


Birds of a Feather

by ars_meliora



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Lovers to Friends, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-02
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2020-11-21 12:13:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 42
Words: 76,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20853839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ars_meliora/pseuds/ars_meliora
Summary: A thief runs amok in Paris, but they also manage to steal the hearts of the people as well.Want to give feedback? Send it this way--> https://forms.gle/gvsCiWcfD2j13s9M7





	1. New Kid

"Marinette have you seen this?" Alya shoved her phone up her friend's face.

"A newscast of theft?" Marinette looked puzzled as to why such a piece of news would catch Alya's attention. Most of the time her friend did nothing but talk about Ladybug of the Ladyblog.

"It wasn't just a simple 'theft'. According to the report, the person or persons who pulled this heist also exposed the evildoings of the billionaire."

"Where was Ladybug, the protector of Paris when this was spoken in online circles?" Marinette couldn't believe the things people posted online. "They have done more than Ladybug?! Who do these people think Ladybug has done nothing, she's saved the city countless times."

"And who's to say the people who are being it are not akumatized?" Alya pointed out.

The two friends continued to chat about the news. A sudden heist with stolen goods and an exposed billionaire? Everything sounded so fishy. 

\-------------------------------------------

You played with your bracelet as you patiently waited in the principal's office.

"So Ms. Y/N L/N what brings you into this school year?" The principal asked, looking at your file.

"Not much, just here due to my parents' work."

"Mr. Damocles, you wanted to speak with me?" A woman entered, you presumed this was to be your teacher.

"Ms. Bustier please meet Y/N, she's a new student that's going to join your class.

"Please to meet you." You gave a cordial nod and stretched her hand to meet hers. 

"What a well mannered young lady!" She smiled as she took your hand. "Come let's take you to meet your classmates."

You followed Ms. Bustier down the halls of Françoise Dupont High. It looked like your old school but you didn't care much about it. Regardless you decided to snap a quick photo with your camera, it'll look nice in your scrapbook. 

"Come in!" Ms. Bustier's voice motioned towards the room.

As soon as you walked in you saw a paper object fly towards you. Without thinking twice you smacked it back into the face to the person who threw it in your direction.

"Woahhh..." the room echoed in unison upon your quick thinking. Great now you had everyone's on you.

"Kim that was not nice, don't do that again." Ms. Bustier chided at the boy you hit back with his paper ball. "Class remember how I spoke about a new student coming to this classroom?"

"I thought that was Lila?" A girl with a reddish-pink sided ponytail commented.

"Lila also counts but, Y/N L/N is also joining us from now on. Y/N you can share a desk with Ivan."

You stood there confused, thankfully the boy who you presumed to be Ivan raised his hand. You nodded and made your way to the desk.

"Sorry if there's no space..." Ivan said sheepishly, you quickly assured him you had more than enough space to move freely.

The class ran smoothly, you still heard ceratin whispers here and there about yourself. You knew this would happen, but not at the rate that you could overhear most of the conversations.

One conversation you did not expect to hear is that of the billionaire theft. Granted it was over some news outlets but compared to other news in Paris this certainly didn't take the cake. From what you could overhear the girls were angry about how certain journalists referred to the problem as something that Ladybug could not fix.

Finally, the bell rang and you walked towards the lunchroom. You spotted a seat in an empty table, what you didn't expect was a group of girls to sit next to you.

"Mind if we sit here?" a blond girl with curly hair asked you.

"Go ahead." 

The atmosphere felt forced, you mentally cringed at the fact you're the new kid. Nevertheless, you didn't feel a hostile aura from the girls, they seemed very nice.

"My name is Rose. So Y/N where are you from?" Rose asked cheerily. You can't deny that her happiness rubbed off you.

"My parents travel for work, but their current HQ is here in Paris."

"What do your parents do?" another question was asked.

Regardless of the many questions, it felt easy to answer and their inquires. They came to know that your parent's worked as translators but currently took a job here. That you're into photography and like playing video games. You came to know all of them by their names, the girls were livelier than you but that just made it easier for you to listen to their ramble.

"Now for the real question! Ladybug or Chat Noir?" Alya asked.

"Neither, I don't like for others to solve my problems."

That seemed to hit a chord with the girls. They looked at you as if you grew another head. One girl, in particular, looked at you with some angry in her eyes, if you recalled correctly her name was Marinette. 

Thankfully the bell rang causing the tension to break. Making your way back you sat in your seat hoping for the class to end. As class started you couldn't help but think about what you should do when you get home. Time flew fast and you quickly made your way out of the school, chills went by your spine as you saw Marinette's icy stare.

\-----------------------------------------------------

"Can you believe Y/N?!" Marinette spoke to Alya and Nino as they walked to Alya's place.

"It's her personal opinion though. Maybe Y/N has a different standard for a superhero. Like Magpie who kicks ass!" Nino interjected.

"Who's Magpie?" Marinette asked.

"Apparently its the name of the person behind the heist. Y'know the one we're talking about earlier?" Alya said as she gave Marinette her phone on the news update.

_ "Magpie is the name of the person who exposed this scandal. This is not the only heist they have pulled. They have also helped expose other corruption cases in other countries and minor thefts around Pairs. This current heist was the same, Magpie exposes all the files online to other reporters and redistributes the wealth of these corporations to the people affected th-".  _ Alya stopped the video.

Marinette could only get more frustrated at the news as the trio walked towards their destination.

\--------------------------------------------------

Adrien listened closely to the news as he did his homework.

_ "Magpie is considered a gentleman thief, from what we could gather they have never hurt or stolen from the poor. Could this be a new hero to overthrow Ladybug from her pedestal?"  _ The reporter continued on.

"A new hero huh?" Plagg floated near Adrien.

"Looks like it, but isn't stealing still wrong?" Adrien looked at Plagg who just shrugged.

"Whatever that just means less work for Chat Noir." Plagg went to laze on the sofa and left Adrien to his thoughts.

_ 'The new girl looked pretty...' _ Adrien could help but to think on Y/N who amazed him with her quick reaction towards the paper ball.

Just then a notification pop-up adorned Adrien's phone. It was Nino asking for some homework help. In between texts, Nino slipped what Alya told him about Y/N.

_ 'The new dudette doesn't really like Ladybug and Chat Noir. Apparently, she doesn't like the idea of having others to fight her fight' _ Nino's text read.

"What's got you so puzzled?" Plagg read Adrien's face and quickly flew to his side. "Woah a new kid, and not a big fan huh?"

"Sounds like it, but maybe Chat Noir can change her mind." Adrien muttered.

"Looks like I finally rubbed off you, maybe next time you can show off."

Regardless now Y/N was in his mind for another reason, not only were you pretty but also didn't fancy superheroes. 

_ 'We have breaking news, it seems like the Magpie has struck again and this time it seems like they're doing it bright daylight. Quick turn the camera there!'  _ the news reporter pushed the camera towards a cloaked figure carrying a painting. The cameraman and the reporter ran to catch up.  _ 'It appears that Magpie has stolen a painting, according to some sources this is the case of art theft by an artist who stole others art. It's the first time this Hero appears in daylight and even more astonishing is how this happened during the opening gala. We have been informed that the Hero also vandalized the art by adding the originals with the name of the real artists. Seems like they're looking out for the little man in the ways Ladybug-'  _

The reporter was interrupted at the sudden sight of Magpie appearing in front of them. Said figure gave them a USB.

_ "This thing on?" _ Magpie asked the reporter who could only nod at the distorted voice that came from the figure.  _ "Good, inside the USB is more information about the art theft. It is also being sent to all of the phones of the Parisians you should be receiving it soon."  _

Not long after the reporter's phone rang showing the documents and a compilation of other stolen art from the artist. The cameraman zoomed in to show the contents.

_ "Ama-" _ the reporter was caught off as they noticed the disappearance of Magpie.  _ "Where are they?!" _ The transmission was cut abruptly. 


	2. Helping Hand

_ 'Looks like I'm here an hour early...' _ You looked at your watch and you climbed the stairs of the school.  _ 'Maybe a nap.' _

To your luck the classroom was open. Walking towards your desk you took out your tablet to look at the pictures you took during the Gala. 

_ 'They sure did a number on that art.'  _ You thought as you looked at the graffiti written all over the canvas. 

"Why did you tell me your art was also stolen? I only noticed by the online handle that was in the document." A voice said as they opened the door. The pair was revealed to be Alix and a red-headed boy walked in.

"Ther-" The red-headed boy paused upon seeing you.

You had your headphones on and pretended to sleep. Secretly you had these headphones for show, nothing was playing but it helped you keep others away. 

Alix looked at your form and walked with Nathaniel towards his seat. On her way there she poked your shoulder to get your attention.

"H-huh?!" You stammered as you shook your head causing your headphones to fall. 

"Morning sleepy-head." Alix playfully told you.

"Morning. Am I in the wrong seat?" 

"Not at all, Nathaniel sits behind you and I just wanted to see if you were alive." She chuckled which made you laugh as well, her sense of humor was nice.

"Looks like I am. Do me a solid and wake me up before class please?"

"Sure thing!" Alix gave you the thumbs up. She quickly sat next to Nathaniel and you slowly went back to your original position, headphones and all.

"You were saying?" Alix chided Nathaniel.

"My art was stolen a long time ago, sure I was mad but I let it go. One thing for sure is that it got me some followers from it. I'm glad Magpie didn't say my real name, this will stay between us two." Nathaniel looked at Alix for confirmation.

"Your secret is safe with me."

Nathaniel pulled out his sketchbook to show Alix his new project.

"Surprisingly it's not another Ladybug sketch. Who's this?" Alix peered over the sketch.

"It's Magpie, from what I could find anyway. Thought maybe it might be nice to sketch her, y'know as a thank-you for helping. Maybe they'll see it, maybe not but I have a bit of hope they might."

"Guess Ladybug might have to watch out!" Alix chided Nathaniel who blushed a deep red matching his hair.

The class started to get full little by little. The students chatted among each other, none of them paid attention to you. They're a lively bunch for sure. Ms. Bustier entered the class and everyone rushed to their seats. Alix kept her promise to wake you up, to which you gave her a small smile.

"Okay class open your books please!"

\---------------------------------------------------------

Today was a free day, meaning there was nothing scheduled. You decided to sit on the bench and watch others pass by and chat.

"Hey Y/N!" Alix walked next to you.

"Hey."

"So why are you acting like such a stranger?" 

"Dunno, just thought maybe I should people watch."

"Is it true you don't like superheroes?" A boy with a cap interjected. The question made your spine chill once more.

"I guess word gets out easily. But I don't like superheroes." You responded as you turned your gaze towards him, he wasn't alone he was accompanied by his friend. The blond boy looked at you, a puzzled look adorned his face.

"What do you like?" Now the blond spoke.

"Reading, videogames, music, and photography." You scratched the back of your head. 

As the four of you talked and you came to learn their names. Nino is into music and is friends with Adrien. Apparently, Adrien is a model, he was also shocked to see that you never heard of him. You and Adrien clicked instantly with other hobbies.

"You should come over to the art room, it's a safe space to find other things that can inspire you." Alix's invitation surprised you, the school didn't look big enough to have a dedicated art room. Still, you were curious if you could find something that inspired you.

You agreed to Alix's suggestion, after class, she will take you to the art room. The bell rang and the students started to walk towards their next class, following suit you can't help but wonder what kind of people you'll meet as the days go by.

\----------------------------------------------

True to her word, Alix nudged you as you gathered your items to leave the class. Next to her was a boy with red hair, he looked rather shy but you sensed him and Alix were good friends.

"Alright Y/N ready to see my artistic side?" She announced proudly waiting for your answer.

"Sure thing!" You responded as you got up and followed behind her. She acquainted you with the boy next to you, his name was Nathaniel and you could tell he was a shy one. 

The art room was surprising in itself, it looked more like a loft than a classroom. There was a wall covered in graffiti that caught your attention, taking out your camera you took a snapshot for safekeeping.

"That's Alix's form of art." The red-haired boy spoke softly, you let out a small sound showing your appreciation towards the wall in front of you.

"What's your form of expression?" You asked the boy, he was a bit surprised at the question.

"Umm... I like to draw..." there was shyness in his tone, you couldn't but help to feel compassion. 

"I'd like to see it sometime, some art should be shown instead of hidden." You gave him a small smile as you walked past him to sit near an empty desk. 

Pulling out your laptop and connecting your computer to edit some photos as you watched over people who decided to stay in the art room. You noticed another girl who was sitting down and scribbling away in her notebook if you recalled correctly she was also in your class. 

"Mind if I sit here?" Nathaniel broke you out of your daze.

"Go ahead." You scooted to let him sit next to you.

"Are those the pictures from the incident?" He asked you couldn't help but to mentally facepalm for having those pictures opened.

"Yeah, I went to the exhibit to take some pictures, but everything was in chaos when they revealed the paintings."

"Do you have any more?"

You showed Nathaniel the album you compiled of the incident. It seemed that he was looking for something, while he was looking your eyes darted to the side. His sketchbook was opened to a page, it was a rough sketch but you could figure out he was drawing Ladybug and something else.

"What's that?" You asked and pointed at his sketch.

"It's Ladybug, but I can't find myself to finish it. It seems there's something else I rather sketch." He turned the page to show you the masked hero everyone in Paris was gushing about.

"That looks super cool!" The number of details there was in a single sketch amazed you. The media barely had enough information to make out Magpie but Nathaniel's sketch felt as if he was there to look at the hero up close.

Nathaniel couldn't help his heart skip a beat. Not many showed the same amount of excitement when it came to his sketches (aside from Alix), but the way your eyes darted from section to section made him feel an emotion he thought only Ladybug could give him. 

"Can I take a picture of it?" You looked at him with a twinkle in your eyes, that was the moment Nathaniel knew he felt something for you.

"Y-you can keep it!" His stuttered embarrassed him, he didn't know what would stop his heart. The look of adoration you gave him or the fact you liked his art that much.

"R-really? Thank you so much! Give it to me whenever, but you should keep the original it's too good to be just ripped away from your sketchbook." The buzz from your phone made you pout, it was time to head home. "That's my call to leave, but I had a nice time talking with you." You bid him farewell and shuffled out the class.

"So..." Alix nudged her friend who looked flabbergasted at the whole interaction. "Looks like Y/N was impressed" Alix really hammered the last statement.

Nathaniel was a lost at words, which made Alix laugh a bit harder at her flustrated friend.

\---------------------------------------------------------

_ 'R-really? Thank you so much! Give it to me whenever, but you should keep the original it's too good to be just ripped away from your sketchbook.' _ Y?N words still rang on Nathaniel's head.  _ 'Maybe I should sketch something...' _ He grabbed his book and started to draw, but he found drawing Y/N once again, he couldn't concentrate on other things mostly with that sound. 

'Wait' Nathaniel did a double-take, a faint sound was indeed pestering him but it was coming from his bedroom window. He went to inspect it only to be met with two red orbs looking back at him.

"AH!" Nathaniel fell back, was there a monster looking at him?!

"...n.. it..." The figure spoke.

"What?!"

"I said open it!" The figure's distorted voice demanded. 

Nathaniel thought for a moment, how does he know this thing won't hurt him.

"I won't hurt you, I have something for you."

Reluctantly he went to open up the window. The figure handed him an envelope. Nathaniel opened it and read the contents.

"I'm going to get some art royalties?"

"Just follow the instructions, that's the money the so-called artist made out of you. The money should appear shortly but you have to send the application in." 

The figure starts to shuffle away from the window, only to be stopped by Nathaniel's hand on their shoulder.

"Thank you."

The figure nodded and jumped off the window. Nathaniel tried to see where the figure fell only to find out there's no evidence there ever was another person at the window.


	3. Art Tour

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who's reading this series. Hope you like it! Also, follow this link to pick who you want the reader to end up with. ---> https://forms.gle/PRUuCj3oFYrYVB4MA

It was finally the weekend, all you could go is snuggle into your bed. There was nothing to do, school work was done and there were no plans for today. But alas, your stomach was grumbling and demanded food. Getting up to dress up, you heard your phone vibrate who could it be at this hour?

"Hey Y/N do you want to come over? I'm currently at the museum." It was Alix inviting you out, you had no plans and maybe going to the museum can help you find some inspiration.

"Sure thing, send me the location and I'll be there."

\---------------------------------------------------

"So this is what the Lourve look like up close..." You looked around, there was so much too see that you didn't know where to start.

"There you are!" Alix broke you out of your daze, it seemed you weren't the only one to be invited. As she got closer you saw Nathaniel walking behind her, the moment his gaze met yours he looked away."I invited Nathaniel, hope you don't mind."

You shook your head in response if anything having more people around isn't a bad idea in the museum. 

"Alright let's start the tour!"

\-----------------------------------------------------

"So you're telling me you live in this museum?!" You asked, amazed that the Lourve has more secrets than meets the eye.

"Yeah, my dad is the historian of the place. So I get to roam all these places."

"Amazing, to be near all the most important artifacts in civilization and see them all the time!" You'd trade anything to be in Alix shoes, everything minus your parents they're the most important treasure in your opinion.

"Oh, what's this exhibition?" You pointed to the closed down section, there was a sign saying coming soon.

"That's for the famous Renaissance collection, the exhibition is called The Advent of the Artist, most of the paintings are from the collections we have stored here."

As you were geeking out you failed to notice Nathaniel's gaze on your figure. The lights of the Lourve made him notice other features of your face that made him feel more enamored with you. He sat down to sketch, seeing how you and Alix were talking up a storm. 

"Maybe I should just call my father to answer your questions, hold on a moment." Alix took out her phone and left to a more secluded area. 

You decided to walk a bit and see the paintings that adorned the walls. Museums really are a form to immortalize culture and art that can't be done otherwise. The scribbling of pencil on paper caught your attention, you turned to see Nathaniel engrossed in his sketchbook.

"Found your muse?" Your voice clearly broke him out of concentration as his pencil fell on the ground. Going towards him to pick it up the two of you bumped heads.

"I'm sorry!" His voice sounded panicked.

"It's okay, I should've been more mindful and not've scared you." You handed him the fallen pencil. His touch lingered a bit before retrieving the pencil towards himself, you gave him a small smile to assure there is nothing to be worried about.

"Sorry to interrupt lovebirds, but my father will be coming to give us a more in-depth tour of the Lourve."

Alix comment got the reaction she wanted from Nathaniel but she didn't expect for you to also turn beet red that rivaled Nathaniel's hair color. She couldn't help but laugh at the reaction of the two of you.

"I'm kidding, but my dad really is going to be here soon. Though I feel bad that I have to leave to do some errands, so I'm leaving Y/N in your hands, Nathaniel it up to you buddy." Alix pushed her friend closer to you, right on cue her father walked in to introduce himself and see his daughter off.

"You must be Y/N, Alix told be you have many questions and I suppose Nathaniel will be joining us as well! Come, let's start the tour."

For the first time, you and Nathaniel walked shoulder to shoulder. At times he would mention the colors and the techniques of certain artists.

"Next time you stop by tell Alix to call me so I can give you the tour of the other half. It was nice meeting you." Mr. Kubdel bid you farewell, leaving you alone with Nathaniel.

"So... know a good place for a snack?" You asked casually, truth is you barely even ate before coming here. And the price to pay for food inside a museum was too much for what they gave as food.

"There's a bakery that sells good croissants, its a bit far but they're good."

You motioned Nathaniel to show you the way.

\-----------------------------------------------

"Never knew Paris could feel so... claustrophobic." You were currently squished between Nathaniel and the train window.

"S-sorry about that..."

"It's okay, at least there's food waiting for me when we get off."

Without any warning a group of people entered; clearly, they were tourists as they just shoved their bodies inside without regard for others. This caused Nathaniel to enclose you and him in a sea of bodies. Your face met with his chest, he was taller than you but that wasn't what first caught your attention. His hands were around you as personal space was no longer an option, he opened his mouth to say something but you stopped him.

"It's fine, how many more stops?"

"Four more."

Thankfully the tourists got off a few stops before you two got off. As you walked you heard a commotion, people were running away with the ground rumbling. And Earthquake?! You look towards the horde of people to find a giant Gorilla monster raging on a building.

"Let's hide!" You grab Nathaniel to the closest shop you could find. Taking out your camera you decided to zoom in to see the monster. 

_ 'Tell me your secrets...' _ from the zoom you could only figure out that King King's long lost brother had someone captured in their hand.  _ 'Holy shit is that Adrien?!' _ Moving the camera to capture more footage you also saw someone going up to save him.  _ 'So this is the Ladybug, not bad let's see...' _

It was no use, Ladybug seems to have saved the boy, but she got out of sight. No use crying over missing footage, looking around you spotted Nathaniel not far from you.

"Can we go grab that bite?" 

"Are you sure? There could be more dangers outside."

"I'm sure, plus Ladybug can't let down her city so we're good." 

And with that, you walked with Nathaniel to the bakery. Either Paris is a small city or you were lucky enough to be in a bakery owned by one of your classmates.

"A friend of Marienette is always welcomed here!" Her father cheered, though a friend wasn't the correct word, you didn't want to sadden him. "Here try these, and these an-" he went off about all the pastries.

You were going to be here for a long while.

\---------------------------------------------------

"Please let me pay you for these!" You pleaded to Mr. Dupain who only shook his head to your pleads.

"It's a welcome gift, please share these with your parents."

"Th-thank you!"

As in on cue, Marinette ran downstairs is a bag and swimming goggles around her neck. Without any caution, she crashed into you.

"Mari-" Her mother yelled, but relaxed when she saw her daughter out of danger.

You stood there holding her by the waist on one hand, and another hand extending to make sure the pastries didn't meet an untasteful doom. Faces so close you could admire her eye color, there was something about them you couldn't pin-point at that moment. And thanks to her squirming you decided to let her go as she gained her balance.

"I should get going." You bid her parents goodbye and walked out with Nathaniel. 

\----------------------------------------------------

You sat on your chair looking over your computer monitor, more news about the incident but nothing really eye-catching.

"Y/N! Where did thes- Stop screaming!" Your father yelled as he burst into your room. Once you calmed down you told him of the location with the bakery. "Truly an art, oh let's see this one..." 

"How's work going?" You asked your father as you stole his last macaroon. 

"We finally did all the translation for the music festival, Mom is looking over the emails to send."

"Any plans for that?"

"Not really, though maybe there are certain things to look forward, Like Jagged Stone's performance."

You chatted idly until your mother came in with her laptop.

"Y/N would you like some music lessons? Maybe you can up the guitar or something you like., a switch in pace can come in handy."

The glint in your mother's eyes hinted something else. You couldn't help but agree to her proposal. 


	4. Piano Keys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The museum is a place to look at art but not to find them when they go missing.

"How do you just forget your laptop and documents?" You questioned your father over the phone, these were the times you questioned how he's a functional human being.

"It was on accident, I tried to rush to a meeting but now I don't have a back-up..."

"Fine, tell me where you're at."

\---------------------------------------------------------------------

'You're totally going to pay for this old man' Infront of you the Agreste mansion. Sighing you pressed the intercom button. A tiny camera came out to look at you, you blinked in response and lift up the papers.

The was a buzz and you walked in making way to the front door. But before knocking you were met with the stare of a buff man and a lady next to him.

"I'm L/N's daughter and he asked for certain documents..." You smiled nicely hoping they would let you in.

"Follow me." The woman led you up the stairs and into the second floor where you could hear a piano playing in the distance.

"You see Adrien? This is what years of practice can lead up to." A voice spoke, that wasn't your father for sure.

To your surprise, it was this room that the lady leads you in. Your father was currently playing the piano as Adrien and another man saw his gracefull skills. Moonlight Sonata was your favorite when it came to songs your father would play, you couldn't help but smile on how focused he was as he played.

"Mr. Agreste, L/N's daughter has brought the documents you wanted." 

You quickly pulled out the documents with the laptop and handed it to the lady. 

"Y/N thank you very much, and also to you Mr. L/N, you play the piano gracefully. Did your daughter inherit the same skills?" Mr. Agreste asked you, father.

"She sure did! Though she plays more like her mother than me." Your father spoke with such love that you could help but blush at the comment.

"Could she play a piece for us? I want Adrien to see someone of his age play the piano."

You shuffled towards the piano and sat with your father, and that's when he spoke.

"Would you like a duet ora solo piece for her to play?"

"Dealers choice."

"Play Rose Adagio." Your father commanded and you followed suit.

As he started off you tried to concentrate on your part, your role was to play a supporting player so you closed your eyes and tried to remember. After a while you started to play with more passion, your father held a small smirk, he knew you would switch the tempo and followed suit.

The moment your tempo switch Adrien gasped a bit and looked at his dad. His father held a proud smile that he rarely sees, even now when it comes to an untraditional rendering of a classical piece. Even the atmosphere seemed to change, there was something in the air that didn't allow Adrien to part his gaze from you and the piano. It was at the end of the piece when Adrien found himself clapping at the performance.

"See Adrien, even Ms. L/N can play at that level. How many years have you played the piano Ms. L/N?" Mr. Agreste questioned, leaving you in shocked he took this much interest in your skills.

"Well ever since I was 3 years old, it started from watching my parents play and later on playing myself." 

"I would like you to come from time to time, to remind Adrien that talent can be cultivated to your level. Now please excuse us, we have some matters to attend. You're welcome to stay or leave." And with that, he exited the room, followed by the lady and your father.

Once the door closed you got up to leave, only to be stopped by a hand on your shoulder. You turn around to see Adrien facing you.

"Umm..." Is all you manage to say.

"You mind playing with me on the piano sometime. My father never lets others play with me, he thinks that the Agrestes are better as soloists but your playing seemed to change his mind."

Lowering your bag you sat on the piano's bench. "I guess we can do that if you want."

Adrien let the biggest smile adorn his face.

\-------------------------------------------------

"So... no one ever comes here? Not even Nino?" You questioned Adrien as you play some video games with him. 

"Especially not Nino, father thinks he's a distraction." He let a little sigh come out as you beat him in another round.

"Sucks a lot, a golden jailhouse that's for sure." You looked over his room, he had everything but human interaction, you pitied him a little.

"Even if I try to go outside my bodyguard takes me everywhere. S-" He was interrupted by a call on his phone. He answered it and started a video chat.

"What are you up to dude?" It was Nino's voice.

"Just hanging out with Y/N." Adrien's statement made you mentally cringe.

"Really?!" Another voice came from the phone, two voices in fact.

"Say hello Y/N." Adrien faced the phone to you. You waved at the phone and sat closer to Adrien.

"Y/N dude how did you do it?" Nino asked as he regained ownership of his phone, he was accompanied by Alya and Marinette, and someone did not look happy to see you.

"Piano skills can get you anywhere..."

"Y/N is amazing at playing the piano, so much so that my father allowed her to stay." 

"Maybe Y/N is your ticket out of your house!" Nino exclaimed.

You certainly did not sign up for this babysitting job.

\------------------------------------------------------------------

"You do know that tricking your father is not on my bucket list." You told Adrien during recess. If anything going against his father could damage your family.

"A few white lies can't harm us right?"

"Not us but his confidence in my family and me is not a line I'm willing to deceive. I could just ask him that you should tag along with me after piano lessons."

"Pi-iano lessons?!" Marinette's voice announced her spying on the two of you. You raised your brow on how nosy she was.

"Cat's out of the bag, I'm giving Adrien extra piano lessons for funsies." Your tone showed no emotion if anything you're doing this because you felt sorry for him. "I'll take my leave, see you after school."

\---------------------------------------------------------------

"Ugh." you slumped down into your desk next to Nathaniel in the art room.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I'm babysitting Adrien as supplementary piano classes. This blows!" You slammed your head on the desk once more.

"It can't be that bad right? Don't girls dream of being next to a handsome guy?" There was sadness in his tone even if he tried to mask it you picked it up.

"No, it's stupid! I'm missing out on exploring and doing photography by babysitting." You grumbled as you pulled out the piano sheets he has to practice.

"You could just say no."

"Not that simple, people with money are dangerous and my family works with his father. I'll play along until I find a way out."

Even within your complaints, Nathaniel knew your heart was in the right place. If anything you were just as pure-hearted as Ladybug, hell maybe even more.

"Enough about me, let's see how your comic is going?" You changed the subject and leaned on his shoulder to get a better view. "Oh?!" To your surprise, the comic switched from Ladybug to Magpie. "Who's that?"

"Well I decided to switch it up, Magpie and the Evillustrator are going to become partners in crime."

"Two vigilantes fighting others, now that's what I call amazing!"

The two of you continued to look over his sketches, time was cut off short as you watch beeped.

"I need to head out, we should chat latter!" You gave him a sticky note with your phone number and a note to call him.

Nathaniel couldn't help but look at your cheery form leave the room.  _ 'A gloomy face doesn't suit you.' _ He thought as he looked at your sketch in his book.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------

The sound of metal hitting metal assured you that fencing practice was far from over. You sat down and took out your camera to catch various snapshots, a read fencer caught your attention and was at that moment your muse. Their grace and technique made you sure that compared to them everyone else was an amateur. But their technique hinted something that didn't really imply fencing.

"Kendo." You muttered under your breath, that's a dangerous opponent by the way they manipulate their partner at the receiving end, you took a video to analyze later at your leisure.

Practice ended 10 minutes after its normal time. Adrien spotted you an made his way towards you.

"Sorry that practice took longer than usual." 

"It's okay, it was fun watching you."

"Who's this?" A muffled voice spoke from its visor, it was the red fencer!

"This is Y/N and she's giving me extra piano lessons. Y/N this is Kagami."

"Your fencing skills are amazing, is it fused with your Kendo technique?" You had so many questions and needed to know what kind of attacker she is.

"How do you know that?" She didn't sound annoyed as she spoke, she took her headgear off and you got a better look at her.

"During my travels, I've seen that technique, and yours is the most amazing form of both fencing and kendo."

"Y/N right? Do you know how to fence?" She asked.

"I don't actually, I'm just a fan of the sport..." You sounded disheartened, but the effect was bigger on Kagami.

"I'll teach you sometime, I need to get going."

"C-can I get your number?" You blurted out, it was once in a lifetime opportunity and couldn't let this one slide. "Here's mine you can call or not, either way just seeing you was enough." Kagami took your note and smiled.

"We'll be in touch, see you." She walked away, your heart would've stopped that moment and you'd gladly say you had a good life.

Adrien saw the exchange, he felt a small ting when you talked to Kagami. He pushed that feeling back and nudged you. "Shall we get going? I was thinking we could go to your place to practice."

"Do you have permission?" 

"I'll call Nathalie!" With that Adrien left to make the call. He was given a thumbs up if you promised to answer the calls from Ms. Sancoeur and update her.

"Let's go..." You followed Adrien to his car and left towards your house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I'm trying to write as much as I can before school kicks me I'll appreciate any feedback you can do that by using the poll. Link: https://forms.gle/PWT9zygYi9zPSNANA


	5. Melodies of Crime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In between music and school, items are stolen.

"There's a parking space in the back, and you're welcome to come inside." You told Adrien's bodyguard who gave you a cordial nod. A man a few words but you understand he would stay in the car until the lesson is over, he drove towards the spot and parked.

"I didn't know you were rich..." Adrien marveled at your house, it was as big as his!

"It's an inheritance, come inside we have work to do." You motioned to follow. As you opened the door you were greeted by the smell of food, your mom was home!

"Y/N I'm making your fav- who's this?" Your mother asked looking over Adrien.

"I'm Adrien Agreste, pleased to meet you."

"Ah you're the kid she's going to tutor! Well, I'll bring some snacks upstairs later, make yourself home." And with that, your mother left for the kitchen.  
\----------------------------------------------  
"I haven't been in someone else's home let around their room!" Adrien looked over your room to see what you're into. There was a piano near the window but other than that it seemed more filled with video games and books stacked all over the place.

"Lucky me I guess... Now sit down, your father instructed me on the pieces you have trouble with." You motioned the piano and he sat there and started to play. After a while your phone buzzed, it was a text from Nathaniel!

'How are the piano lessons?' It read.

'He doesn't make that many mistakes, maybe he just needed a change of scenery.' You texted back.

A sharp note broke you away from your phone. You looked at Adrien who looked shocked at your sudden attention.

"Hold on, start this again from here." You pointed at the sheet and sat next to him. He tried once more but only made another mistake. "Be gentler, take your time like this." You placed your hands on his and made him play along as you pressed down the notes. "See, its a bit slow but you'll get to it."

Practice went smoothly and you got a call from Ms. Sancoeur announcing it was time for Adrien's departure. You walked him to the front door and waited for his car to come by.

"I made some notes on your sheets, try them out and tell me if they help. See you, next class." You waved him off and Adrien waved back as he left your view.  
\------------------------------------------------------  
"We have breaking news that the Lourve has been hit by robbers stealing various small pieces of archeology, paintings, and among other things." The reporter read her review, Paris was stopped to a halt as all television screens gave the news. "We have a video of these robbers! It seems they all were wearing masks."

The masked robbers were adorned with different masks, ranging from pop-culture icons to ski masks.

"Here's the Mayor giving his press conference." The video is cut to a live feed of the Mayor getting ready to give his speech.

"We are currently looking for these robbers, the monetary value is nothing compared to the cultural value they're stealing is the true-crime!" Mr. Bourgeois spoke and reporters asked more questions.

"What are the plans to capture these robbers?" A reporter asked.

"We can't say much, but we're asking if the protectors of Paris can help us capture them. Ladybug and Chat Noir are somewhere and we need their help." The interview went on and Marinette turns down the volume.

"Think we can help them Tikki?" Marinette as her tiny friend who pondered the question.

"We can look into it but there isn't much we can do if there's nothing akumatized. Plus this seems more of a non-miraculous incident than anything."

"You're right, but still we need to help somehow." Marinette pondered on how to help her beloved city.  
\---------------------------------------------------------  
"I'll send you the notes, I'm sure Ms. Mendeleiev won't mind you missing classes considering your situation." You spoke on the phone with Alix who was under house arrest by the police to make sure nothing contaminates the scene.

"Thank you so much, hope this clears up soon. Dad is sad about the missing pieces though..."

"Everything will be okay and back to normal don't worry." You talked to a bit more before ending the call. 'This is a problem...' You looked over the news and the petitions online for Ladybug to show up, still, you didn't get your hopes up.

Without much warning you bumped into one of your classmates, it was Juleka.

"I'm sorry! I got distracted looking at my phone are you okay?" Panic was in your voice, the last thing you needed is to mess something up.

"No, it's fine." She replied assuring you she was indeed okay.

"Juleka you forgot this at home." A male voice broke your conversation. "Who's this?" he asked.

"Y/N is a classmate, she bumped into me accidentally, but everything is okay," Juleka replied and all you wanted is to disappear.

"Y/N, that's a nice name. My name is Luka and I'm Juleka's brother." He extended his hand and you took it, the handshake was brief as the bell rang. "I'll see you home, you should bring your friend over some time as well."

You gave him a small wave and walked inside to get ready for class.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------  
"Now class I'll be pairing you up for the next project and no switching partners." Ms. Mendeleiev spoke and started to read off the list.

To your luck, Juleka became your partner. Either fate was playing a joke or you were that lucky.

"We could go to my house and work on the project." Juleka's voice broke your thoughts.

"Sure thing. Are there any materials we need? I could bring them over to your house."

Juleka and you made plans on the items you needed. Thankfully you had most of them at home so you could take them over to her house. You decided to meet up on the days you didn't have piano tutoring.  
\------------------------------------------------------------  
"Woah!" you exclaimed at Juleka's house, a pirate ship was something to marvel at, you decided to take a picture to immortalize the scene. You tried to look for an entrance and saw the walking board and decided to walk onto the ship.

"Hello, there matey!" A pirate voice startled you.

"Hello Captain, umm... I'm here to see Juleka for a project!" You saluted the woman who laughed.

"You must be my daughter's friend then! She's in her cabin down below so feel free to go down there."

She pointed at the stairs leading down, you thanked her before leaving to find Juleka. But the sound of a guitar playing in the distance distracted you from your objective, deciding to follow it you knocked on the door that hid the sound.

"Come in!" a voice was heard from the other side and you opened the door. The person sitting on the bed was certainly not Juleka.

"Wrong room, I'll be leaving then..." As you closed the door the voice spoke again.

"No, come in please." It was Luka who motioned for you to sit on the chair near him.

As you sat down you felt his gaze looking at you, you started to regret taking that detour. You looked back at him searching for answers, he too was searching for answers as the two of you locked eyes.

"So... that's a nice guitar you have there..." Trying to break the tension seemed to work as his gaze fell on his guitar.

"Thank you, so what's a girl like you doing in a place like this?"

"Juleka and I have a science project to do." You tilted your head at his odd question.

"Do you like music?"

"Yes."

"What kind?"

"Everything is okay with me as long as it's easy to hear."

"Do you play and instrument?"

"Piano among others." This felt like an interrogation, and that's the last thing you wanted to do in your life.

"Care to listen to a piece I'm working on?"

"Sure."

Luka strummed his guitar, it was somber tone and you couldn't help but feel at peace. If anything this tune relaxed you enough to change your mood.

"That's how you sound like, somber and calming." Luka's voice broke you out of your daze.

"Thanks, I guess, hmmm you remind me of the azure beaches in Yucatan." It was the first compliment that came to your mind, was it a bit much? Maybe so, but the blue of his hair only proved your point. "Well then, I'll get going... the project won't get itself done as much as it will be cool if it did." You got up and made it to the door only to be stopped by Luka's voice.

"Would you like to come to our show? During the music festival, we plan to do a little reunion and play some tunes." Even though he sounded confident, his body language told you otherwise.

"A boy who's in a band invites me to see him play, hmm..." You faked about thinking of his proposal to see if you got a reaction out of him. His face slowly turned into worry so you decided to answer him. "I'll come to see you play, maybe take some photos of the scenery here." You extended your hand to him, he blinked at the sudden gesture. "You shouldn't leave a person hanging."

You decided to take matters into your own hands and grabbed him, his expression of shock amused you.

"Call me later!" You made a little gesture of a phone with your hand as you walked out.

Once the door closed Luka could help but look at the little note you left in his hand. 


	6. Caper: Night at the Museum

"How's house arrest going for you?" You asked as you sat down in front of your computer to look at a bored Alix on the other end.

"Other than Ladybug paroling the place there really sin;t much going on." 

"I'll call that interesting, beats doing a diorama of the Hubble Tuning Fork." You quietly sipped your tea as Alix chatted along.

"Speaking of school, how's Nathaniel doing? He's told me that the two of you have lunch together and how you fall asleep in math class."

You nearly choked on your tea as the sentence left her mouth. "The eye of an artist sure is something, but yeah I fall asleep. The class is boring I'm surprised Ms. Mendeleiev hasn't called me out on it." 

"He also says that the only class you do enjoy is literature, you're the one who does the most talking when it comes to that."

How could you be so blind to how perceptive Nathaniel is, maybe you should keep a closer eye on him instead. Your monitor sounded out a notification.

"What's that?" Alix interrupted.

"Nathaniel posted some new art check this out!" You sent her the link.

"To my beloved hero... Woah!" Sure enough, Alix knew who it was meant to, he spoke to her about the night the masked hero came to his room some days after the art thief was exposed.

"Ms. Kubdel your time is up please say goodbye to your friend." A police officer spoke to Alix who pouted.

"Guess it's my time to go then, see you Y/N" Alix gave you a sad smile and you bid her goodbye. You closed the window and moved to your other screen.

"Alright time to fix this..." 

The sound of typing filled your room, its time to finish your assignment before anything.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Tikki spots off..." Three days of the night shift was starting to catch up on Marinette. She made sure to lock the doors to avoid any intruders sneaking up on her.

"Do you think they'll come back and steal more stuff?" Tikki asked.

"Who knows but I want to catch the thieves before they do anything else."

A knock on the door startled Marinette.

"I'll be taking your shift, my Lady rest assure everything will be safe under my watch." Chat Noir's footsteps announced his departure.

"Let's catch a breather..." Marinette closed her eyes deciding to rest for a moment.

A figure looked at the patrol officers, everything looked normal as it did a few days ago when this all started. For now, the Lourve was not the main topic, it was getting the money to get the artifacts that mattered.

_ 'Time to pay a visit to the Mayor.' _ And with that, the clocked figured jumped off the building and into the street.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mr. Bourgeois slept peacefully, he never expected someone to disturb his sleep until he felt a hand covering his mouth.

"Not a sound, I'd like to make a bargain." The distorted voice commanded. Seeing that the Mayor is agreeing to their first condition gave them enough security to just time him up and leave his mouth alone.

"P-please don't hurt me..." Fear radiated from his form, they can't do a good deal if he's too scared.

"Alright look..." They brought a lamp close enough to illuminate their form, It was Magpie!" See no weapons, not my way of doing things but I also want to get those artifacts back. As you said, the real crime is those items getting lost in the wrong hands."

"L-let's say I agree that you're not behind this." The sound of the figure sighing made him rethink his words. "I'm sorry I-" The figure grabbed the neared chair and sat doing pointing at him.

"Ever heard of honor among thieves? Let's say I have a bone to pick at people who at least can't do a correct job at stealing or replacing items. All I'm asking is some money to be donated to a charity and for another amount to be wired to this account." The figure held up a note at the Mayor's face.

"Just money to a charity and money to an account... How do I know you'll keep your end of the bargain?"

"Smart man, I like that! Alright you can let those superheroes of Paris stick around, hell I'll even give them the artifacts and you can record the whole thing. But no funny business, I like to work alone but these are your ordinary villans in Paris."

The Mayor thought for a moment, was it worth someone who's cost damage to Paris during their art show worth it? Ladybug would be there so if anything goes bad she can just call in for support.

"I'll agree to your terms, the money to the charity will be first then the money to the account after you finish your job."

With a press of a button, the Magpie's contraption freed the Mayor from the chair. They got up and made their way to the window, but not before pulling out a device.

"I'll see them in the Lourve, and careful with not holding your end of the deal or I will put our conversation on the internet." Magpie played the recording if anything this was just evidence they'll keep in handy in case this goes bananas.

Before the Mayor could stop them Magpie disappeared without leaving a trace. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Chat Noir, the Mayor is on the line and he wants Ladybug to be present." A guard spoke with high urgency and he quickly went for Ladybug.

"Mr. Mayor are you sure they're not the real mastermind behind this robbery?" Ladybug asked from her en on the phone, what if this was all a setup?

"They assured me they have a good reason not to cross me, but I ask that you keep a close eye and call for backup if needed. I'm sending you a device if you push the button you'll send a signal and my men will be ready."

"I won't let you down!" Ladybug ended the call and put on the device, it was red so it easily camouflaged with her suit.

"Sir! Someone is at the crime scene, we have them surrounded!"

All units mobilized behind Chat Noir and Ladybug as the figure stared at the missing pieces in the Ancient Civilization wing of the museum.

"Don't move!" Ladybug commanded.

"The first thing I ask of the Mayor is not to pull these stunts and yet here we are..." Magpie walks around looking at other missing pieces. Some of the artifacts were stolen from their rightful museums of their origin country and brought here, it's a shame that in the end, not all thieves steal for the money, some just do it for the power.

"My Lady said don't move, we have you surrounded." Chat Noir backed up his partner, his eyes never leaving the masked form.

"Or what you'll hit me with your stick and yo-yo? Or maybe these guards will haze me? Either way, you won't get anything back without my help." Magpie walks closer to the two heroes as the guards aim their weapons at them. "Don't mind me I'll be looking for clues." And with that, they walked about the other sections that had missing objects.

"Everyone to their regular spots, we'll handle this." Ladybug commanded the other officers who put their trust in her.

This was going to be a long night

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You live here right kid? Did you hear anything at night?" Magpie asked Alix as she was accompanied by Chat Noir on her side.

"There were some loud noises, but I assumed it was the work crew doing the noise since they worked odd hours." She seems a bit scared even if she tried to hide it you could sense it.

Magpie touched their mask and sat down on the floor. "Listen..." The voice was no longer distorted but smoother to the ear. "You're doing great telling me this so don't worry everything will be fine. You can leave now."

"Can I take a picture of you?" Alix blurted out her request.

"Later when you hold the missing paintings in your hands, I'll grant you that for being a good sport."

Alix was escorted by the nearby guards, leaving you alone with Chat Noir.

"So... why are you doing this? My Lady thinks you're the one behind this..." As he got close to them he noticed their small frame and silhouette, though their disguise didn't let him form if they were a boy or a girl.

"Guess I'll be your leap of faith, now tell me this..." Magpie's hand rose up, "Woah super soft!" They petted his ears causing him to purr a bit, he pouted when he felt their hands leave his head.

"Alright let's go to the construction site Mr. Whiskers..." 

Chat Noir couldn't believe the 180 of their personality change. It only made him think of more questions.

"Wait up!" He ran behind them on the empty hall.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Do you steal?" Chat Noir's voice spoke as Magpie was paced around the room. It looks like a normal wing getting remodeled, but it seemed something was not fitting in.

"Only steal from the rich or thieves with bad intentions." 

"A thief stealing from other thieves? You're no different." Ladybug chides Magpie who only continues roaming the museum wing.

"My Lady maybe we shouldn't anger them... So you're like Arsene Lupin then? That's super cool!" Chat Noir exclaimed causing Magpie to giggle.

"Y'know so far I like you the more we speak Mr. Kitty." Magpie stopped at the column in front of them, this was the missing piece. They look around only to find a slight color change on the floor. "Eureka!" They touched the floor with their gloved hand to trace the floor, there was a loose set of titles and they started to take them out.

"Amazing... what's your name again?" Chat Noir asked honestly.

"Call me Magpie for now." They jumped inside the hole and activated their night vision. "Are you guys coming or not!"

"After you, my Lady" 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"To be or not to be, that is the question!" Magpie held up a skull as they recited the lines.

"Put that down, don't you have any shame?!" Ladybug grabbed the skull and put it in its original place.

"Oi! They're dead if anything I'm having a little fun with them." Magpie walked the dug up terrain of the robbers. It was smart of them to use old pipelines as an escape route, hats off to their dedication.

"Hey Princess, I'll give you a boost to get to their lair!" They pointed at the ceiling that showed some artificial lights coming from above.

Moments later the trio made it up to the lair. It was a normal-looking warehouse. Considering the time they had to move the items it was a surprise to find the cargo sitting idly without protection. Rookie move or maybe they were just amateurs that got lucky. 

Regardless, Magpie activated their lenses to find any traps hidden. 

"Alright, call in using that watch the Mayor gave you. Make sure they have something to pull the cargo, the kitten will stay with me for extra manpower." Magpie walked towards the wooden crates and started to open them. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So what's the deal with all those crazy happenings in Paris?" Magpie made idle chat with Chat Noir until they got the signal to move the artifacts.

"Sorry that I can't tell you." Chat Noir looked over the missing pieces and at his staff for a message from Ladybug. The plan was to apprehend Magpie after everything was secured, but it didn't sit well for him.

"Hmm... then you can ask me anything then!" Magpie took another piece, everything was an original so there wasn't much to look at.

"Are you male or female?"

"Hitting those hard questions, can't say much about that so next question."

"Are you from Paris?"

"I don't have a place to call home, for now, this is my playground."

"Why Magpie as a name?"

"It fits like a glove, so that's that."

"W-" Chat Noir was interrupted by a message on his staff, signaling that it was time to move the items.

"Let me give you a helping paw." Magpie joked, making Chat Noir laugh at the terrible pun.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Sir, we have recovered everything and the reporters are standing by. Should we let them in? An officer reported to Mr. Bourgeouis who was nervous, to say the least.

"Not until Magpie comes out and we arrest them."

The final piece came back in Chat Noir's hand, but no sign of their target.

"Sir... Magpie has escaped!" The captain of the officers came to report the Mayor.

Chat Noir tried to act shocked if anything he was a good actor and made everyone think that he was on the same boat as them. He recalls his last minutes with his temporary partner:

_ "Wait so you knew you were walking into a trap?!" He tried to keep his voice down but the fact that Magpie thought this far amazed him. _

_ "The Mayor can't trust someone who barges into their room and demands money." They said sarcastically and Chat Noir let out a bitter laugh. _

_ "Touche." _

_ "The real question is why are you going against your crush's wishes?" _

_ "Well I mean you're not doing anything bad if anything you're helping us save the day." _

_ "The only bad thing I'm doing is showing my face on camera, but I promised the Mayor that I would appear. But then again maybe I should just leave he did break his word." _

_ "Tell me what you need and I'll help!" _

And that's how he's at his current predicament, Ladybug was trying to apologize for letting the Mayor down.

"Sorry Mr. Mayor, that's one slippery thief I was only able to take the artifact away just in time before they left." Chat Noir's persuasion seemed to work as the Mayor calmed down.

"But what about the thieves? Magpie did not hold their end of the bargain..." Mr. Bourgois felt he lost the whole case if the thieves are still at large. 

"About that Sir, Magpie gave a location and the thieves have been apprehended!"

"Perfect! Now I can face the press with my head held high!" The Mayor left to address the press that surrounded the entrance of the Lourve.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alix saw the report on the TV, the thieves were caught and all the pieces were being examined for damage. But there was no sign of the real Hero anywhere in the reports, she felt lied to by the media.

"Psst..." A sound came from the ventilation vent. Alix went to investigate further.

"It's me, I'm keeping my promise. So stay back while I get out." It was Magpie coming back to take a picture, Alix headed their words and waited for them to get out of the vent.

"You came!" Alix went to hug the figure who stood there frozen by the sudden contact.

"W-well I had a favor to ask of you as well..."

"Anything you ask I'm on it!" Alix responded enthusiastically, that when she was handed a manila folder. "What's in here?"

"Let's say that some artifacts we have here were stolen from their place of origin, give this your father and he'll understand. But I assure you that your father is not in danger if he wishes to return the stolen items to its original owner they're willing to give him more artifacts to display."

"I'll leave it in his room."

Alix couldn't believe her eyes, to be asked to hand in important documents for her father will surely help him. Not only that but she'll be able to boast to Nathaniel how she met the famous Magpie that helped him in the past.

"Now let's get the picture so you can go to sleep."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My Tumblr blog is currently opened for requests or just chit chat for anything you wish for me to write or just anything in general: milkshakes-and-crime.tumblr.com


	7. Study Group

"Y/N wake up..." Your mother's voice tried to catch your attention, but all you wanted was to say in bed.

"There's no school today..." You pulled the covers to avoid her gaze.

"There's a friend in the living room looking for you. He says he has news about your friend who lives at the museum."

You quickly jolted up and started to get ready, you can't just go downstairs if you looked like this. "I'll be there in five!"

You lost your balance a few times as you got dressed within the time limit. As you hurried downstairs you found a familiar red-haired person sitting in the living room sofa.

"Hey, what's up?" You said as you sat down next to him.

"Alix has asked us to come over to see her"

"Alix is inviting us over? Is that even allowed?" You tilted your head at Nathaniel's message from your friend.

"She's in the clear to see people again, so I'm here because I wanted us to go together..." There was a slight blush on Nathaniel's features as he asked you.

"That's sweet of you to think of me, I'll accept your offer! Let me grab my bag before we head out."

\-------------------------------------------------------------

"You guys made it!" Alix jumped to hug the two of you, you couldn't help but laugh at her sudden outburst.

"I thought they were going to stop us from coming here but Y/N was able to convince them to let us go." Nathaniel spoke to his friend who looked curious at the person receiving his praise.

"I just told them I had schoolwork to give you and that Nathaniel was escorting me because I'm new." You said bashfully, it's weird being the center of attention from people you consider as good friends.

"Nathaniel is a gentleman, keep an eye on him or someone might steal him..." Alix teased causing her two friends to blush at the statement. "Chill down I'm joking, but I have something I need to show you guys!" Alix scrabbles to get her phone to show her friends the picture.

"Amazing!" You and Nathaniel say in unison, causing the two of you to shy away from Alix's grin. "If you brought food I may tell you everything that happened that the media is hiding..."

You quickly went to open your bag to show the snacks you brought to Alix with the help of Nathaniel.

"Alright, you guys might want to sit down to take in all the juicy details."

"We're ready!" Nathaniel said as he sat next to you. Alix got ready to explain everything with as much detail as she could, she'll tell the whole world if the papers want to keep silent about the truth.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------

"Never thought you'll go against Ladybug's orders." Plagg spoke in between bites of camembert.

"Well I wanted to believe in Magpie, plus they did keep their word after all..." Sure it made Ladybug take the blame for his action, but he was sure that tricking an ally wouldn't be helpful in the future.

"That's true, everything seems to be in its place according to the news. You did the right thing back there."

Adrien smiled at his kwami who looked pleased as he ate away his cheese.

"Alright, I need to practice so Y/N doesn't figure out I'm slacking off." He sat down at the piano and looked over his sheets. They were filled with notes and tips on how to play certain sections. 

In between his practice, his mind flew to the two new people in his life. Well more like one person, Y/N was someone he could act normally with rather than keeping his cool. Magpie didn't count, they gave vague answers.

_ 'I wonder what they're doing right now...' _ The piano's off-key brought him down to reality.

"Careful there, Y/N might give you an earful if you keep doing mistakes" Plagg teased only causing Adrien to laugh. Maybe that will be fun to experience, Y/N losing their cool is a sight worth seeing.

\----------------------------------------------------------

"Welcome back Alix, we're glad to have you back again!" Ms. Bustier cheered as her student returned after being away for so long.

"Can't believe I'm going to say this but I really missed being here." Alix spoke as she went to her desk.

'I'll help you catch up after class, but for now, let's take notes on what we read last class..."

For once you had something to look forward after the lecture, other than just lunch.

\------------------------------------------------------------

"Your notes are really detailed and even color-coded!" Alix looked over her tablet as she received the online notes you sent her. "Is this your secret to perfect grades?"

"It's my secret to not falling asleep in lectures, but other than that it just looks pretty if there's color in my notes." If it wasn't for taking notes you would've fallen asleep in every lecture, sadly you had no luck when it came to be unnoticed by your teachers.

"Can I come over your house when we have tests? I feel like you can help me out." 

"Sure thing, just tell me beforehand so I can clean up."

"Wait you don't have a maid? Even when your house is that big?" Nathaniel asked.

"No my parents think a little bit of labor builds character, plus there's not much a maid can do other than just clean the living room. My parents don't like spending on unnecessary expenses if it can be avoided." It sounded weird but it was the truth, your parents were very frugal and that rubbed off on you, plus who wants strangers to touch your personal things?

"Can we come over today?" Alix questioned.

"Let me check..." You pulled out your phone to see if there was anything planned for today, there was a piano lesson and that's it. "I have piano tutoring with Adrien, I can ask if wants to reschedule or if it's okay that you guys are also there." 

You texted Adrien to see if he would like to have class today.

_ "A study group? Can I join too?" _ Adrien quickly replied, that was out of left field considering how good his grades were in all his classes.

"Adrien wants to know if he can also join our study group." You looked at Alix and Nathaniel for answers.

"He has good grades, maybe he can help us if we get stuck." Nathaniel responded and Alix nodded at his statement.

_ "Yeah you can join us but after your piano lessons I don't want you to get behind on them."  _ Hitting send, you put your phone down and continued eating.

Nino saw how his friend smiled at his phone and typed away.

"What's gotten you so happy?" Nino's voice caught Adrien's attention.

"I'm part of a study group!" Adrien told him happily, though it could come as mundane this was the kind of life Adrien wanted.

"Who's in it?"

"Y/N, Nathaniel, and Alix."

Nino smiled at his friend, it's nice to see Adrien happy even if its for a small thing such as being part of the study group.

"I'll crash the study group one of these days before an exam. Have fun but not too much fun without me." Nino joked and Adrien laughed.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

"Wait what's the formula for Joules?" Alix's brows furrowed as she tried to understand the physics problem.

"It's the same as calculating for Work." Nathaniel pointed out.

"What was that one again?"

Adrien played the piano as low as possible as to not distract the study group, though he also failed to notice he stopped playing to overhear the conversations.

"Adrien... I'm not hearing you play." You crossed your arms as you stood beside him. Maybe it was a bad idea to hold the study session in your room, but you also didn't want to isolate Adrien from your friends. "Alright we can stop, for now, you can go and study with them while I get the snacks."

"Let me help you with that." Adrien responded, you nodded and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

"Are you allergic to anything?"

"Feathers but that's not food."

"Hmm..." You responded as you cut up various pieces of fruit into a bowl. Maybe a little food will help Alix understand her homework, plus it's nice to munch on things as you work.

"Thank you for letting me stay, and for treating me like a normal person." Adrien scratched the back of his neck, other than Nino, you were the only other person to treat him as just another person.

"No problem, just focus when we have our lessons." Your phone buzzed, it was a message from an unknown phone. 

_ "It's Luka, I was trying to finish a song but I need a second opinion. Would you like to help me please?"  _ It's been a week since you met him, but you needed to check your calendar.

_ "Send me the time and date and I'll see if I'm free." _ You quickly typed.

"Was is Nathalie?" Adrien peaked over your shoulder nearly causing your phone to fall out of your hands.

"First of all no peaking..." You pushed flicked his nose causing the boy to flinch at the sudden pain. "Second no it wasn't Nathalie."You grabbed the plate of fruit and snacks and started walking back to your room, Adrien followed behind you to avoid another flick in his general direction.

"Where's the bathroom?" He asked.

"The visitor's bathroom is down the hall to your left, want me to show you?"

"There's no need I'll be right back."

As you walked in your room you noticed Alix face-first into the little table as Nathaniel sighted at his current predicament.

"Alix you've learned enough come take a break first." You set the plate down and gave everyone forks. That's when you heard a slight snore coming from your friend. "She fell asleep?"

Nathaniel scoots closer to avoid waking his friend as we spoke how she fell asleep as he was trying to explain the material.

"Can't blame her, your voice is soothing it's bound to make people sleep." It wasn't a lie, though he rarely spoke in class the times the two of you have spoken ofter made you yawn a bit.

"Thanks... was that a compliment?"

"It was, sorry if it came out sarcastic but I really do mean that your voice is very soothing." You looked over the work the pair did, it looked correct but there was a long stack that still needed to be completed.

"How are you liking Paris so far?" Nathaniel tried to break the silence, maybe he could get to know you better.

"I like the crowded spaces, reminds me of other places I've been. But sometimes I wish we could just go somewhere else."

"Like where?"

"Maybe Oslo, it was a nice city and they have long winters. My parents said we're going to stay here for a long time so you won't get rid of me that easily."

The two of you chatted up a storm as quietly as you could, once Adrien came in he sat in front of you and smiled.

"What did I miss?"

"Just about how Nathaniel is stuck with me until further notice." You smiled ear from ear as you spoke.

"You're planning on staying in Paris for a long time? That's great!" You staying in Paris also meant he had more time to spend with you.

"Sounds like my student is also very happy with the news. I'm not going to get easy on you, by the time we stop our lessons you'll be playing concertos"

Your confident voice seemed to reach Alix as she muttered a sound of approval causing the three of you to quietly giggle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Currently writing a new Luka/Reader firc and an Adriedn/Reader one as well. If anything there will be little snippets of it on my tumblr. I'll post after I finish Rolling Girl, thank you for your love and support.


	8. Hesitations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for uploading late, I had midterms and paper due.

"How was your study session?" Your mother asked as you sat down to eat dinner.

"Alix fell asleep as Nathaniel explained concepts; Adrien, on the other hand, couldn't concentrate so I'm going figure out how to do this." You munched at another piece of food.

"Why are we asking if we have this place bugged?" Your father asked, causing your mother to kick him under the table.

"Just because it is bugged doesn't mean we can't ask out sweet daughter how her day went. Plus it's nice to be a normal family from time to time."

"We are a normal family, we're just a traveling family that covers our bases." You jested causing your parents to smile.

"She got that from you darling, and she has my wits!" Your mother winked at you causing you to laugh.

A family meal like this made you forget all your worries if anything this was the moments you wish to relive every day.

"The Lourve is currently working with an overseas museum to return various artifacts. In exchange, the overseas museum will collaborate with top archeological researchers to uncover more truth." The TV in the living room spoke as your family looked amazed.

"Maybe she's a bit like the two of us dear." Your father raised his glass as a sign of toast for the good news.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The bell of the coffee shop rang announcing your presence to the owner. He gave a slight nod as you sat on the table overlooking the window.

"The usual?" The owner asked as he looked at you.

"Not this time, I'd like the seasonal flavor this time around." You pulled out your tablet and looked over the news.

"Coming right up." The owner left.

The news just stated how the Mayor of Paris donated a large amount of money to a non-profit archeology charity. That makes sense considering the report you saw yesterday during dinner. Yet Alix's words still echoed in your head, the fact that the Mayor wasn't the one behind finding the artifacts and the real hero is not mentioned.

"This is a cozy place..." A voice broke your thoughts as someone sat in a chair in front of you. It was perfect timing as the owner came in with your drink a menu.

"I'll give you time to order." The owner left once more as he hands Luka the menu.

"This place was hard to find, how did you come across this hidden cafe?" Luka asks you.

"There's an internet blog with recommendations and places to go if you're in Paris. After a while, I became a regular." Sipping your coffee you looked at the people who walked in and out of buildings. "So about the song, what's the problem?"

"Just need fresh ears and someone to critique it." He pulls out his phone and hands you the headphones. Once you put them in you give him a slight nod as he plays his song.

You sat there, eyes closed and tried to listen carefully. To your surprise, it was more of a guitar solo than the band performing. Still, it had a cheerful tone, it infected you a bit as you let out a small giggle. As the song came to an end you took the headphones and resumed to drink your warm coffee.

"So how was it?" Luka asked, his face didn't hide his need to know everything you thought of the song.

"It's a beautiful song, but it still needs to mature a bit. The way it sounds is amazing don't get me wrong, but maybe you need to give it time to mature. It's authentic but maybe others won't understand it as you and I." Your mouth felt dry, being blunt was your strong suit but when it came to doing the same to others it didn't rub off that way.

"Maybe you're right that's why I asked this favor from you. But I also have another request..." Luka muttered the last part if you didn't care enough you could've brushed it off but this intrigued you.

"I'm listening..." Settling down your cup you rested your cheek in the palm of your hand as you leaned to the side.

"If we can make this a piano arrangement, maybe the sound might change or create something new. Will you help me with that?"

"Under one condition."

"Anything you ask I'll follow."

"I don't want any credit for the song if it's ever published it will be under your name.

"Is that really what you want? We can split the money if that's what you're referring to." Luka couldn't believe his ears, he wanted to work with you because of what he's heard through the grapevine.

"Take it or leave it." You started to get up and go to the counter to pay for your drink when Luka stood up to impede you from going any further.

"It's a deal!" 

"Send me the music sheets, or I can stop by your house if you want." The owner took your card and you sign your receipt.

"We can meet up on Friday if you're free?"

"I'll send you a text bye." 

And with a little wave, you left the cafe. Luka tried to catch up to you but once he stepped out to the street you were nowhere in sight.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ms. Bustier's birthday is coming up, what are you planning to get her Y/N?" Rose asked, after finishing your group project with Juleka you started to notice your group of  _ friends _ grow. It was still weird how close everyone is, you still wanted your distance but that proved difficult.

"No idea, I didn't know you're supposed to plan something." You tilted your head, it was a weird thing to give her something if she was your teacher but only a month has passed and you didn't know her that well either to buy her a present.

"Well you still have a month or so, we can help if you want!"

"Thank you, I'll have to see what I buy her..."

"What about you Marinette?" Rose turned to the blue-haired girl.

"I'm planning on making her something, it will be better than buying something." Her tone caused you to looked at her with bored eyes.

Ever since you started to hang around Adrien you sense a little more hostility from Marinette. Maybe it was the way you spoke about her favorite heroine or it could be way Adrien often spoke to you more than her. If anything you rather go back to the times when it was just Alix, Nathaniel, and you compared to a big group that you didn't find interesting.

As they chatted about you decided to look at your phone for anything amuse you. Your phone buzzed and you noticed it was a text message.

_ "You look bored." _ It was Nathaniel who texted you.

_ "The girls are talking about gifts for Ms. Bustier and I have not idea what to get her." _

_ "I could help, I haven't gotten her a gift but we can buy one together." _

Of course, why not ask Nathaniel for help he's been in Ms. Bustier's class longer than you and his schedule lined up with you most of the time.

_ "Nathaniel, have I told you that you're my favorite person in the world? Can we meet up next week to buy the gift together?" _

_ "Thank you, send me the details." _

Physically you had a poker face, emotionally you were clutching your heart because of your sweet friend. Of all people you like to hang out with, it was Nathaniel who as on the top of your list.

_ "Where are you now? Save me from this please!" _

_ "In the library, you're coming over? _

_ "Hell yeah!" _

You got your stuff and quickly headed out, the girls were too engrossed in their conversation to notice that you left. Once in the library, you found Nathaniel, deciding to scare him you started to sneak up him. As you got close you put your hands around his eyes, he stiffened and reached for your hands.

"Guess who?" You whispered in his ear to avoid getting in trouble.

"I'm guessing Y/N."

"You guessed right!" As you uncovered his eyes his hands intertwined with yours, they perfectly fit with yours it only made you blush. Nathaniel motioned for you to sit on the chair next to him and you gladly did so.

"Not a fan of girl chat?" He teased and you groaned.

"Maybe I'm just not a people person, but it's something else."

"Something bothering you?" Nathaniel resumes sketching, this is how conversations often when. Either Nathaniel or you would speak for long periods often engrossed in other things but never missing a detail.

"Call me crazy but I think Marinette dislikes me, it bothers me that she just doesn't say it out loud. Instead, she throws shade and glares at me. Hell, not even Chloe looks at me like that, and I consider her to be nice to me." Exasperated you slouched in the chair, earning a chuckle from him. "What's so funny?"

"You are Y/N, most people try everything to get others to like them. But you seem to want people to be far from you or tell you they don't want to associate with you."

"Maybe I'm just picky when it comes to people, it's like this feeling I get about certain people y'know? Should I just corner Marinette and make her confess or something?"

"Don't beat around the bush much do you?"

"Pfftt... I'm a straight shooter!" You mimic a gun with your finger and make a noise.

"Quiet!" The librarian yells across the room, causing you and Nathaniel to laugh quietly.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Y/N would you like to practice fencing with me sometime?" Kagami asked as you sat in your usual waiting spot.

"Won't the instructor be angry with that?"

"Not at all, it's a catch-up period. Meaning he's too focused teaching the newbies to notice if you trained with me. Plus I asked for his permission and as long as you just stick with me it should be fine."

"Alright, let's do this."

"Great, here's your bag and go change."

You left to change, it was surprising that the gear fitted you like a glove. It was (your favorite color) that showed your form. Quickly going to find Kagami you glanced into the art room and found Nathaniel staring at the window.

Waving to catch his attention you motioned him to look at the fencing practice. He quickly followed behind you as you left and looked for Kagami.

"Y/N?" Adrien's voice spooked you.

"Have you seen Kagami?"

"Oh, she's over the-" Adrien didn't finish his sentence as you beelined towards the girl.

"Looks like the gear fitted well, okay let's get to the basics first." Kagami showed you the ropes, luckily you were a quick learner which amazed Kagami and Adrien. "A break before we start out first duel okay?"

You nodded and skipped towards Nathaniel, who sat by your stuff sketching away.

"You make everything seem very easy." Nathaniel states as you chug your water.

"Kagami is a good teacher, can't really complain much about her she's super cool." In the corner of your eye, you saw Kagami speaking with someone, turning to see it was Marinette talking with Kagami. Well, it looked more of Kagami speaking, you decided to walk towards their pair only to see Marinette walk with a sour look on her face.

"She really does wear her heart on her sleeve." You stated as Kagami turned to see you.

"She hesitates a lot when it comes to Adrien, can you tell she likes him?"

"Yup, she's been glaring at me the past month since Adrien started his piano lessons with me. Though maybe its time we spoke face to face."

"That will be later, for now, let's start your official match against me." Kagami grabbed you by the arm as she walked to the fencing stripe. if anything you were nervous about making a fool of yourself in front of Kagami.

"Ready?" Adrien shouted signaling that the match was about to begin. "Go!"

You stood there waiting for Kagami to make the first step, to your surprise she lunged at you causing you to do a double attack without much thinking and getting a point.

"Point for Y/N!"

The match lasted for a few more rounds, in the end, you were only able to score 2 points out of 10. Surprising everyone, including yourself to have gotten that far.

"Good job Y/N, maybe you should join the team." Adrien stated causing Kagami to nod in approval.

"I have too much on my plate for now, maybe some other time if the instructor permits me. It wasn't a lie, between piano lessons, tutoring, and helping Luka you had your hands full of stuff to do for the next few weeks.

"Well practice is over so maybe we should head out then." 

"Right," You nodded as you looked at the time on your phone, "Kagami I hope we become good friends in the future, I also want to become a pupil and a rival that can help you become a good fencer."

"I'd like to fight you in an official match someday, but for now let's practice to become better."

Kagami bowed at you and you quickly return the action with a deeper bow of your own. 

"Can I get your number, that way if you ever need a practice buddy you can call me."

Kagami gave you a sad smile, it's the same smile you saw Adrien had when his father made him practice at his house as you watched over him. You went to grab her hand in yours in a reassuring squeeze, making Kagami face you with sadness in her eyes.

"I understand don't worry, some other time we could figure this out together as friends."

"Thank you Y/N..." She looked at you with determination, the same one she had when she decided to take you under her wing. "But this is one thing I won't hesitate on, so I do want your number as well."

This was the start of a beautiful relation with someone you admired deeply.


	9. Encounters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So those new episodes have hurt me on many levels. Also got any heist ideas? Send them to tumblr if you like :)

"Wrong..." You pressed the piano keys in your electric piano as you heard a wrong note coming from Adrien. You sighed, maybe he needs to relearn his basics before going for a duet. "Take a break and walk around, we'll resume later."

"We can try this again, I-" You cut Adrien off as you motioned him to be quiet.

"Breaks are good, and you're not in trouble so don't worry."

"Okay..." He slouched a bit as he exited your room.

"You're a tough teacher," Nathaniel's voice caught your attention, you gave him a tired smiled and joined to sit with him.

"Am I? I'm more worried that he has to play in front of his father this week to show his progress." It was making you grow more grey hairs as you thought of Mr. Agreste being angry that Adrien couldn't play to his standards. Resting your head on Nathaniel's shoulder you saw some of the sketches he made during your fencing practice. "Ooooo!"

"Now you're pulling my leg, they're not that good." 

"Nope, they're amazing! Picasso who? I only know Nathaniel Kurtzberg."

"Maybe you're just that good of a muse..."

There he goes again, Nathaniel had a habit of making you blush on the smallest things. You looked over the drawings once more, there was something about being his focal point that made you happy.

"Maybe you're just the best painter I have set my eyes on..."

Adrien somehow made his way into the garden, it looked like a formal English Garden but he could see influences from other cultures making their way to be something different.

"What's on your mind, Adrien?" Plagg came out to accompany Adrien in his walk.

"Y/N is on my mind..."

Plagg groaned, first it was Ladybug now it's Y/N. "You seem to have a thing with girls who don't notice you."

"I don't like Y/N, my heart belongs to Ladybug."

"Yeah, okay. I'm just saying the truth, plus you'd have a better chance with Y/N."

Adrien furrowed his borrows, Plagg was right that he was interested in you. But for now he just wanted to be your friend, and if he could become more than that... His thoughts were cut off by his phone buzzing.

_ "Did you get lost?" _ It was a text from you, re quickly replied that he was indeed very lost.

_ "I'll go save you then... _ "

And for once, Adrien didn't mind getting save by someone other than Ladybug.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------

"Marinette your friend is here to see you!" Mr. Dupain yelled from the kitchen table that you were currently sitting by.

_ 'Can't run from this one Marinette...'  _ Truth was this was the only way to cage her in and having her speak rather than run behind Alya. If anything you didn't mind her friends but you did mind when people didn't have the guts to face you head-on.

"Alya di-" Marinette froze on her way down as you gave her the kindest smile.

"Y/N came by and she was showing us these amazing photos!' Mrs. Cheng spoke, causing you to smile as she praised you. "Now tell me how did you learn Chinese?

"I was taught by many families who worked with my parents, they were educators who worked on publishing Chinese-English textbooks." 

"And how did you learn French?" Mr. Dupain interjected.

"By reading classical French literature." You took a sip of the tea Mrs. Cheng served you as you smiled sweetly.

"Mom, Dad I'll take Y/N upstairs then!" Marinette said in between nervous giggles as she dragged you upstairs.

Once inside Marinette locked the door, her room was so pink that you almost confused it for a barbie room, and to your surprise, she had pictures of Adrien in one of her walls. 

_ 'Jackpot!' _ You quickly lined your camera and took a picture, Marinette didn't seem to notice so you decided to leave the camera on record in case you need to do so you can press the button.

"Seems like our fathers are good friends, apparently they meet somewhere before we were both born..." You took a seat by her desk as Marinette looked at you with a shocked and horrified face.

"W-what?!"

"Yup, my father tried to be a baker but let's just say it was only a pastime." You mentally made a note to thank your father for that story and the needed information.

Marinette tried to register what you told her, indeed her father said about an old friend who resurfaced after a long time. But she didn't believe it could be your father of all people!

"So because our fathers are friends..." You strode to her and she slowly backed away, if anyone saw the situation unfold it looked like a prey going in for the kill. "I want to know why the hell you give me the stink eye?" Your voice deepened, as you stated the question.

"What no I don't w-" She was getting tongue-tied, you saw the same reaction when she tried to talk to Adrien at school.

"Marinette you're a really bad liar, so why don't I start off first!" You turned around and sat down once more, holding your head high as your smile was laced with venom but to others it looked like you were just being polite, you hit the record button. "I have an inkling you don't like me very much..." 

Marinette looked at you with disbelief, was she really that easy to read? What was more worrisome is that you knew about her crush on Adrien.

"Fine, I don't like how Adrien likes to hang out with you, Nino told me how much time Adrien spends with you and that you even take him to various places." Her raised voice signaled that you hit a nerve.

"Adrien is just a friend. Sure his father likes me and all, but there are other things to worry about, such as where to go when Paris has another villain or something like that. But maybe next time you shouldn't hesitate on telling me to leave and I'll gladly do so." You got up to unlock the door and head downstairs, "Ciao Bella!" you exited the room leaving an angry Marinette.

"Tikki can you believe that girl!" Marinette asked her kwami who looked at her with a sad expression.

"Y/N was right, you don't really like her so you just needed to be upfront with her. She was the bigger person this time, and she's not interested in Adrien at all!"

"Did I judge her too quickly? Can I go back to fix it? Argh!" Marinette's panicked voice resonated in the room.

"Y/N leaving so early?" Mr. Dupain asked as he saw you downstairs in the shop.

"Yup, gotta head out to do some errands!"

"Say hello to your father for me, and tell him he should come over to play some videogames like in the old days."

"Sure thing, have a nice day!"

Exiting the shop you decided to look at the best shortcut to the shopping district, maybe looking around you could find what to buy Ms. Bustier. Taking the alleyways seem like a good way to get there faster, so you headed over, but that was cut short by a loud noise.

"Help! Thieves!" An old man in a Hawaiian shirt yelled as two figures tole the suitcase he was wearing.

"Sir are you okay? Stay here I'll get your stuff back!" You aided the old man in standing up before sprinting to catch the to assaulters. 

The didn't make it far, there was a dead-end up ahead from what you could remember. Grabbing an old pipe you closed in the two figures who cursed at their current predicament., you quickly pulled your scarf to hide your appearance.

"Alright, I'm going to need the suitcase back boys!"

"Go to hell girlie!" One of them said, only to be met with the pipe hitting mere centimeters from his face.

"That's no way to treat a lady, so hand the case back."

Being driven to a corner the second man tried to knock you out only to be knocked unconscious at your roundhouse kicked him in the face.

"Two against one isn't fair, even more with a lady." The voice said, as they stepped into the light you saw who it was, everyone's beloved Chat Noir came to help you out.

"She ain't no lady!" The figure went into sucker punch you, dodging his fist you punched in the stomach causing him to fall on the ground.

"No hard feelings..." You pressed a finger on his neck and he quickly fell laid down unconscious as well. You grabbed the suitcase and tied the two thieves together. 

"You're a tough cookie aren't ya?" Chat Noir spoke, earning him a smile from your part at the comment.

"And you're a sneaky cat, thanks for having my back." You gave him a kiss on the cheek causing Chat Noir to blush and stutter.

"N-no problem! I'll put these two in the hands of the law." He grabbed the two robbers as he looked at you smiling nervously.

"Thanks, sweetheart, bye-bye!" You waived as you ran to deliver the suitcase to its rightful owner.

"Sir! I got it back in one piece!" You were out of breath, the old man smiled as you open the suitcase to reveal a jewelry box inside.

"Let me check if everything is inside," As he opens the smaller box he saw nothing was missing, though you couldn't see what was in it you could imagine it was something very valuable to him. "Everything is in one piece."

"Good, let me take you home then."

"No need for that I can do that as well!" Chat Noir's voice resonated once more in the empty alley.

"I don't know, I rather see this out for myself."

"Can't have a lady like yourself do that..." Chat Noir's confident voice betrayed his posture as he walked next to you.

"Don't worry miss?" The older man asked as he looked at you.

"Y/N L/N, if you insist on Chat Noir escorting you home then I can rest easy."

"Then he shall escort me home Ms. Y/N but please tell me where to find you so I may repay you back.

"No need to repay me, but if you ever need something I could help you out if I can." You told him where to find you if he needed something. "Well then, I'll leave you in good hands."

Once Chat Noir and the old man made sure you left they looked carefully into the suitcase.

"Nothing was stolen, right Master Fu?" Chat Noir spoke to the old man who nodded as he saw nothing was swapped for fakes.

"That young lady jumped headfirst into danger, tell me, how did she get the Miraculous box back?" Master Fu asked, intrigued by how a civilian was able to fend off two thieves and not get hurt.

"Y/N is a tough cookie, never seen this side of her. She grabbed an old pipe and threatened the two robbers, I was able to see everything from afar. She quickly knocked-out the other one my doing this weird thing on his neck, the other wasn't lucky enough to get the same treatment." 

"A girl her age doing that without a miraculous, tell me more about her at my apartment." Master Fu signaled it was time to go and Chat Noir quickly followed suit.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

"Marinette you should come to my apartment, I have matters to speak to you about." Master Fu voicemail stated, making Marinette worried that something happened.

Not an hour later she found herself knocking at the door to announce her arrival.

"Master Fu is something wrong?" She couldn't help but worry, the voicemail sounded ominous.

"I need to know more about Y/N L/N, I heard she's a student in your school."

"Where to start..." Marinette sighed as she started to explain everything about the girl who came to her house to set things straight. After finishing, Tikki manifested and looked at Master Fu.

"Master Fu was is this about?" Tikki asked.

"Y/N saved the Miraculous box from being robbed, going into danger without thinking about herself worried me a lot. But I was more interested in how she got it back, to be able to handle two robbers by herself is astounding."

"Well we're really not on speaking terms, I misjudged her and she seemed really mad about how passive-aggressive I was with her." Marinette added.

"Yes it was wrong, but to be able to pull something like this is very interesting. And her thoughts on Ladybug and Chat Noir are also interesting from what you told me."

"Are you planning on giving her a miraculous?" Wayzz interjected, causing Tikki and Marinette to stiffen.

"For the time being I won't, I must know more about her before I entrust her with a miraculous. That's why I must ask this from you Marinette, become her friend and tell me what you find out."

Becoming Y/N's friend was the last thing on her list, but now that Master Fu wants to know more she accepted to his request.


	10. Outings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to the people who read this and give kudos to this fic. This chapter is rather long, hopefully, you guys enjoy reading it.

"Who are you?" Mrs. Tsurugi asked as she sensed your presence.

"I'M Y/N L/N, Kagami is my fencing teacher..." She did not look happy at the last word.

"Y/N grab that bokken to prove to me you're not lying." She pointed with her own at the the the one standing adjacent to you. 

You hesitated at the request, but you knew your way around a bokken well enough to parry some of her attacks.

"Yes ma'am, I'm ready at your command." You readied the weapon as positioned herself in front of you.

"Begin!"

Without much thought, she closed the gap between the two of you aiming to strike in the first movement. You quickly reflected her attack, though she was much older she definitely had her strength. This reminded you of her competitions on TV when you were younger:

_ "Tomoe Tsurugi, a champion in fencing, she also practices Kendo. Therefore you should also have the same discipline in case of an emergency." Your mother's voice resonated in your memories. _

You struck her on her right. Causing Mrs. Tsurugi to step back.

"From where I am it seems you are more adept at this discipline than you let on..."

"Thank you for the compliment, but I still have much to learn."

"Would you give me one more round, but this time none of us should hold back."

"It will be my honor to have our blades cross once more."

The two of you resume each other's stance as she yells to begin the round once more. But this time you plan on matching her movements, the room is filled with wooden blades striking each other time after time. Until you see an opening you move in for the final blow as Mrs. Tsurugi goes in for hers as well. Luckily you were the one to hit a second before her blade met your body.

"Y/N L/N was it? My daughter would benefit from your presence." She regained her composure. "Kagami come downstairs!" She yells, summoning your friend ina few seconds.

"Y/N? What are you doing here? Mother, I can explain!" Kagami was panicking seeing your sudden arrival at her house.

"Y/N has proved herself worthy of being your friend. Do not take advantage of this freedom Kagami." Mrs. Tsurugi left the room leaving a happy Kagami with you.

"How did you do that?" She asked.

"Our blades did the talking, your mother loves you dearly." You stated it wasn't a lie, all of her attacks gave off the same declaration: she wanted what's best for her daughter even if her own daughter didn't think so.

"Come then, this is the first time I had a friend over!" Kagami smiled, this was a side of her you loved to see.

"I finally did it, I talked to Marinette about what was bothering me. I was right about her crush on Adrien, it seemed his friendship with me made her jealous."

"Let's speak about this in my room, come!" Kagami grabbed your hand and led you upstairs to her room.

"Y/N, do you like Adrien?" Kagami's voiced wavered at the question, you were her first true friend and she didn't want bad blood between the two of you.

"I don't, I think of him as a brother, if I had one Adrien would most likely fit that role..." You tried to register how it might be to have a sibling, from the places you have visited and studied at only some people fit the role. "I'm sure you can win his friendship, you're pretty, smart, and very talented!"

Kagami threw you a pillow at your sudden statement, causing the two of you to laugh at her actions.

"Y/N do you have someone who's a male friend?"

Her question made you think about the people you had met in the past month. But it was still too early for you to think about who caught your fancy.

"It's too early to tell but there is someone, he's really nice."

The two of you continued to talk about various things from school to hobbies, and everything in between.

"Y/N, do you think you and I could hang out somewhere other than in my house or at practice?" Kagami asked her question reminded you of how Adrien asked the same thing when his father asked you to tutor him.

"Yes we can, do you want to go to the mall sometime? I need to buy a gift for my teacher and my friend is also coming with me."

"Of course! Text me the date and time, but I'm a bit worried that your friend might not want me around..."

"I'm sure Nathaniel won't mind, but I can text him if you want." You pulled out your phone to text him, not a few minutes later your phone buzzed.

_ "I don't mind if your friend joins us, you're a great friend for inviting her."  _ Nathaniel's text read, you showed it to Kagami who was happy at the response.

_ "Thank you so much!" _ You replied.

On the other side of the text was Nathaniel sighing at how he said yes to your request, in reality, he just wanted to spend time with you alone.

"Did your date not go as planned?" Alix teased her friend who only looked annoyed at her response.

"First of all it's not a date, second of all we're just going to buy a gift for Ms. Bustier."

"So why the sigh?"

"She's bringing a friend over, what if its someone she likes?"

"Y/N said friend, plus I thought the two of you were close enough for her to tell you everything?"

"I mean we are but I haven't told her about my crush on her...."

"If you get close to her friend maybe you could get to know if they can help you with confessing. Or you could just buy her a gift during your outing with her."

Nathaniel hadn't thought about that before if you were bringing a friend he could easily buy you a gift without you noticing. 

"Alix you're brilliant!"

"Thanks for noticing it."

"Come help me brainstorm what Y/N might like." Nathaniel motioned his friend to join him. Alix groaned but submitted to his request and started to state various things that you might like.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commuting from your house to school was your favorite thing, mostly due to the sights you came across from time to time and today was no different.

"Greetings Y/N it seems fate crossed our paths." It was the old man you saved last week!

"Hello sir, do you need help or anything?"

"I wanted to know how you have been, during our first meeting I failed to ask if you got hurt. My sincerest apologies if you did."

"Nah I didn't get hurt, I was lucky enough to be saved by Chat Noir he did most of the work." It was a lie but he didn't have to know that. "y the way I never did get your name mister."

"My name is Fu, and sorry for not saying it either."

"It's cool, you were pretty shaken so it was bound to happen."

"Allow me to buy you coffee sometime, as a thank you."

"There really is no need, I did it because I wanted to help you out. It was out of the kindness of my heart and that doesn't need to be repaid."

"Y/N your parents have raised you into a proper lady from what I can tell. I believe you're heading out to school correct? Well, I wish you have a great day."

"Thanks, Mr. Fu and I'll see you around." You waved as you continued your walk towards school, it was still early so you didn't worry much about talking to Mr. Fu.

After a few more blocks you finally made it to school with time to spare, therefore you decided to sit at the nearest bench. You stretched out taking in the sun until you felt someone sit next to you, it didn't concern you so you closed your eyes and meditated.

"Umm... I'm sorry for being rude to you before..." It seemed that the person who sat next to you was Marinette.

"As long as you don't do it again I'm good." You grabbed your bag and got up.

"C-can we start over?" Marinette yelled a bit too high causing you to cringe at her loud voice.

"Nope." You walked away from her, it was weird of her to change so suddenly, regardless it rubbed you the wrong way.

Entering the class you spotted Nathaniel in his usual spot. Sitting next to him you rested your chin on the table and looked at him work.

"Hey, best friend what'cha up to?" You broke the silence and caused him to look at you.

"I finished the drawing of you in fencing..." He lifted up his book to show you the final product. 

"You never fail to amaze me, you should show it to Kagami as well. She's the friend I'm bringing over to the mall with us."

"The red fencer? That very kind of you." Nathaniel felt his shoulders relax, your friend was a girl so he didn't have to worry too much.

"I should be the one thanking you... I know you can ask anything of me as a form of gratitude for letting me bring my friend!"

"Umm..." Nathaniel was shocked at your sudden proposal, but this also meant it could give him a chance to finally be alone with you. "How about we go for ice cream, just the two of us..."

"The two of us..." You blushed at the implication of being alone with Nathaniel, it made you nervous mostly because you couldn't tell if you liked him as more than a friend. But you were also scared of losing him due to your mistakes, but if you don't do some mistakes have you really lived a fulfilling life? "I'd love to!" You asked twirling your hair nervously.

"Well, we can go after school someday when you're free."

"Hold that thought!" You quickly tried to find your planner, only for it to fly out of your hands and into the floor. "I got this!" Retrieving the planner you opened it up to see what you had planned for this week. "Do you want to go on a weekend or during school?"

Nathaniel looked at your planner, he froze a bit when he saw that you had reserved a day for Juleka's brother.

"Is Friday okay? If it's not any inconvenience."

"I only have to work on an arrangement with Luka, if you want we can go together and we can leave as soon as I finish." The thought of Nathaniel going with you made you nervous, you had to put your all and not get distracted.

"That works well, I'd like to hear how the song is coming along and with your skill, it's bound to be a beautiful song."

You gently punched his shoulder for his high praise, but you gave him the most genuine smile at his words.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

_ "I thought you didn't like anyone Y/N"  _ Kagami's text teased you, it was true but Nathaniel had a soft spot in your heart and you wonder how far it will go.

_ "Shhhhhh, it's too early to tell. I'm just going to get ice cream with Nathaniel if anything there might be others coming along." _

_ "Have you heard about the rumors of an ice cream vendor that has the power to bind couples who share the treat." _

_ "Sounds a bit fake, but it is romantic in some way or another." _

_ "You may be right about that... Speaking of afterschool activities, how are you planning on taking me with you?" _

_ "Instead of fencing practice we'll just leave, you did say your instructor is being lenient lately as he teaches the less skilled fencers." _

_ "Okay! Can't wait!" _

Putting your phone in your pocket you decided to look for Adrien, there was no study group session today and you weren't sure if he knew that. Luckily if you find Nino then Adrien is bound to be near.

"Hey Nino, hey Alya." You gave them a small wave as you came up to the couple.

"Y/N what's up dude?" Nino asked.

"Looking for Adrien, there's no study group meet up so I need to tell him." You searched for Adrien and your eyes landed at Marinette chatting with him. "Oh found him! Catch you later Nino."

Jogging up to Adrien you saw Marinette's body language change if anything she looked more nervous now that you were here.

"Adrien today you will have a lesson at your home, I have an important errand to attend so I trust you." Putting a hand on his shoulder you smiled at him.

"Guess it can't be avoided then, but it will be a day off for me."

"No slacking off..." You pinched his cheeks in response, causing Adrien to laugh at your chiding.

"Alright, I'll practice hard then. See you later Y/N, bye Marinette."

As Adrien left, you felt Marinette walk next to you, it seemed she was dedicated to the whole becoming your friend.

"You and Adrien seem very close..." Her voice was soft as she spoke.

"I guess..."

"Y/N I really did mean it about becoming friends."

"Words can only go so far, I'll value you by your actions. Good luck either way."

The bell rang, reminding you about the next class and the homework you didn't do.

"Shit gotta go!" You sprinted to the room hoping you might make it finish at least part of it. Leaving Marinette amazed at how fast you ran to the room.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ready to head out?" You skipped towards Nathaniel who smiled at your enthusiasm.

"Lead the way."

Skipping down the stairs you spotted the familiar red and white uniform Kagami wore, she was sitting near the end of the stairs as she stared at her phone.

"Kagami there you are! Let me introduce you to each other. Kagami this is Nathaniel my favorite artist and good friend, Nathaniel this is Kagami my fencing teacher and my adorable friend." 

"Pleased to meet you, I hope I'm not intruding on your outing." Kagami gave a small bow at Nathaniel.

"No need, a friend of Y/N is also my friend."

"Okay let's head out!" You grabbed them both towards the bus stop if anything this will be your favorite day ever.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------

The malls in Paris looked different from the other malls you were used too, they looked more like a labyrinth than anything. Not to mention they seemed more focused on bigger brands than other malls.

"Nathaniel, are the other places that don't have big brands? Y'now like independent boutiques?" You scooted closer to him and squeezed his hand, the noise was getting to you.

"I believe there are some little shops in the 4th and 3rd arrondissement, we can go there if you want."

You turned to ask Kagami about leaving but seeing how amazed she was, it summoned the extra courage to push those anxious thoughts away. Looking for your earbuds you quickly put them in your ears to avoid the loud noise, it calmed you down a bit and looked back at Nathaniel.

"We can go later, but for now let's grab a bite." You pulled him with you and Kagami to find the quickest fast-food chain you could find.

"Kagami, ever had a burrito?" You asked her as you noted a Hispanic stall in the corner.

"Nope, what are those?" 

"You'll see soon enough!"

\-----------------------------------------------------------------

Kagami had parted ways with you and Nathaniel, she wanted to avoid her mother's wrath if she found our she skipped fencing practice. You waved her off as she stepped into the nearest taxi.

"What should we do now?" You asked Nathaniel.

"We can go to the boutiques you wanted to visit, maybe you can find something for Ms. Bustier."

You blinked a few times before remembering the reason for your trip to the mall, you still had no idea what to give her and time was ticking. 

"I forgot about that let's go!" 

Nathaniel lead you towards the way of the shops, to your surprise Paris was more than just museums and other tourist attractions from what you read on travel guides. Each arrondissement was filled with different aesthetics if anything you could easily forget about finding a gift for the teacher and spent the time looking over the city.

"Let's go in here!" You pulled your friend's hand towards a small shop, it was a flower and perfume shop from the looks of it. 

Upon entering you were greeted by an elderly lady tending to the flowers. It wasn't long until the lady helped you out with finding the perfect gift, you ended up buying some extra sets. Mostly because you saw how much love and affection the old lady put in her craft, you didn't think twice about buying an extra set of everything. Nathaniel offered to carry some bags but you politely declined his offer, it wasn't fair for him to carry all your bags.

"So why did you almost buy off the whole boutique?" Nathaniel questioned as you walked towards the nearest train station.

"Old people hit a certain heartstring in me, plus I just wanted to help her out even if it meant buying everything." It's true, money wasn't the issue for your family. Your parents often spent money investing in small business if it means people could follow their passions or traditions.

"She did seem very happy..." Nathaniel's thoughts went back on how the kind old lady was wrapping all of the items carefully.

"Thanks for indulging me in this outing, I never knew that going out with people would be this much fun!"

Your kind smile caused Nathaniel to linger in the latter half of your sentence.

"Y-you never went to places with other people?"

"No, usually I avoid people and they do the same. I was lucky enough to meet you..." Your thoughts trail off as you think about the nice memories Nathaniel gave you as you became friends with him.

Between the train station and your house, you spoke to Nathaniel about many things. You found out about how he came under the influence of Paris' villain known as Hawkmoth, mostly due to Chloe being Chloe.

"Paris sure is lively, a villain is another story. Chloe is mean, but I still feel bad that she caused you this much trouble."

"It's okay, I'm actually over it." It was a half-truth, he recently got over his crush with Marinette ever since he started seeing you more often.

"Well, this is were we part...But here!" You handed him one of the soap sets you bought today.

"Are you sure?" He was taken back at the sudden action. 

"Consider this as an early thank-you for today, but don't forget that we have an ice cream date on Friday." You told him as you walked inside the house, leaving a flustered Nathaniel.

_ 'Did she say a date?!' _ Was all Nathaniel thought as he made his way to his house. His thoughts were interrupted by the buzzing of his phone, it was a text by Alix.

_ "How did the outing go?"  _ It read.

_ "She brought the girl she's friend with, she's the fencer Adrien also hangs out with. Y/N also gave me a gift. She told me not to forget our ice cream date for tomorrow." _ Nathaniel sent the picture of the soap set you gave him.

_ "So it is a date! What about her gift? Did you buy her one?" _

He totally forgot about buying you a gift, he was to busy observing your likes for him to pick out anything.

_ "No." _

_ "Guess you need my help then."  _

Nathaniel could be happier about having a thoughtful friend like Alix.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Y/N can I keep the Sandalwood scent?" Your father's voice broke you out of your concentration.

"Love she's focusing, let her finish her project first!" Your mother's voice interjected before you could answer. 

"Thanks, but I'm a bit stuck on this article right now... Maybe you guys can help me?"

Your parents looked over the project, it seemed rough around the edges but it had a good structure to it.

"It sounds a bit too convoluted, maybe you should use another angle to solve it..." Your mother's brows knitted as she studied the project more and more. 

"Your mom is right kiddo, maybe she should help you in this one since it fits her skill sets better. Maybe you can learn a thing or two if she helps out?"

"That's not bad, maybe we should take this as a bonding experience..." Your mother thought for a while, but that gleam in her eye betrayed her long pause. "Alright, but you will do most of the work."

You kissed your mother's cheek, she only smiled as she ruffled your hair at the sudden burst of affection. This was going to be a nice bonding experience with your mother.


	11. Misunderstandings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winter break was mostly just me being asleep, hopefully you guys didn't wait too long for an update.

"Y/N, do you read the news?" Alya's voice made you shift your gaze from your book towards her. 

"I read the news mostly online..." You were careful to watch your tone, you didn't want it to come out to sarcastic. You gazed at Alya as she fidgeted with her phone, it looked like she had something to ask.

"Can you read Dutch?" Alya's question caught you off-guard, you nodded your head. Alya showed you an online article, you assumed she wanted you to translate it for her.

"The emerald craze in this country has caused many families to dedicate their lives to mine the gem. Though this often leads to death by low-living conditions and other health impairments as they work the mine. Not only that but they receive little to no pay for the gems that range around $10,000 to $18,000 per carat." You handed the tablet back to Alya. "It's still an ongoing investigation so they don't say who's involved, but they focus on the bad living conditions of the villagers who dedicated their lives to this job."

"Thanks, Y/N. Recently this report gained popularity, but I couldn't find a proper source other than this one."

"Maybe it will catch on, it was an interesting piece."

"If I find something, could you translate it for me?"

"Yeah, no biggie."

"I also have another favor to ask..." You listened to Alya's request and sighed, it wasn't impossible but it was pushing it. It seemed like babysitting was going to be an ongoing job.

"I'll accompany Adrien to your house so he can hang out with you and Nino."

"Great! Tell me when he can come by!" Alya left as she skipped towards Marinette telling her the good news.

_ 'The things I do for people...'  _ You returned to your book, but your mind was raising the many excuses you might have to come up with if you got caught helping Alya in her plan.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------

Today was Friday which meant you had to go over to Luka's place to look over his music. Going down the stairs you were trying to recall how to get to his house when a bike bell broke you out of your daze.

"Y/N, I'm here to pick you up." Luka's soft voice made you acknowledge he was actually here to pick you up.

"Thanks, but I could've just met up with you..." You didn't want to burden him, plus Nathaniel was going to accompany you to Luka's house.

"Woah Y/N is this your boyfriend?" Alix's voice sent panic through your body, it didn't help that Nathaniel was close behind her. "I'm kidding, I remember you saying something about helping Luka with some music." 

"Yeah, umm Luka do you mind if Nathaniel tags along? We're going to get ice cream later and I didn't want him to commute that much." Your voice wavered a bit. 

"I don't mind." His cool voice calmed you from Alix's comment.

"Okay, let's get going." You pulled Nathaniel with you as Luka lead the way to his house.

On your way to his house, you stood in the middle of the two boys. You enjoyed the sounds of the city, but you could also read that the two teens felt differently about it. If it was one thing you knew from your constant school changes it was how tense the atmosphere gets with people who don't necessarily know each other. Regardless none of the boys seem to care about the lack of dialogue as you made way to your destination.

"I'm Luka, I've heard about you from my bandmates and my sister." Luka turned towards the Nathaniel.

"I've heard about you too, I'm a fan of your music and its nice to see my friends happy doing the things they like."

They continued their small talk, allowing you to look at your surroundings. You took out your camera taking some pictures of the street, most were of the dogs you encountered and of the tourists. 

"Y/N what do you think?" Nathaniel's voice caught your attention.

"About what?"

"About the new superhero of Paris, the one that solved the museum theft."

"Oh I guess they're cool, I was more amazed about the large donation from the Mayor." You hummed, where did he get those funds? 

"It seems like they're actually a thief, the police believe that the ones who were captured in the Lourve were the middle-man that Magpie wanted gone so they could get a bigger share of the money. Even now certain banks have been robbed and all the footage points to Magpie with a group of others like them doing the stealing ." Luka soon followed that was a new piece of information about the case. It struck you as odd since the hype over the Lourve heist died down, to put this piece of information was bound to turn some eyes to the tabloids.

The three of you continued to talk until you finally entered Luka's room and put your stuff down.

"Here's the sample." Luka offered you his headphones as you sat next to him, shoulders touching. Normally you minded being this close to people who were not immediate family but seeing as you were a guest you didn't complain.

"It sounds nice, you might want to focus on the tempo of the song."

Luka and you talked back and forth until he offered to play the song on his guitar. You spoke to him about chords and he seemed to follow your lead.

Nathaniel looked at you as you spoke freely with Luka. He did know that music allowed you to be more open, but even when you played in the music room he felt a barrier was still up. It was when you laughed that made his heart feel a sharp pang.

"I didn't expect you to laugh at that time of the comment." Luka's voice filled Nathaniel's ears as he tried to eavesdrop the conversation. 

"It's funny that your sister thought that of me, can't blame her for doing so. I rarely heard that being spoken about myself." You whipped a tear from your eye as you turned to your red-haired friend. "Nathaniel, can you believe that our classmates thought I was a quiet mean version of Chloe? I've been called Regina George but this is new." 

"If they knew you better they can just tell you don't have a mean bone in your body." Nathaniel stated.

"I guess being blunt means being mean." You said between giggles. "Then again I rather doze off than talk to classmates, so there's a possibility that many think I'm just cold. Well, let's call it a day and I'll stop by tomorrow..." Handing Luka the music sheets you put everything in your bag before pulling Nathaniel to the exit.

"Can I text you if I have a question?" Luka's voice abruptly spoke towards your form.

"I guess you can." Tilting your head at his question you couldn't think of a reason as to why should he need to text you about music. Regardless of your answer, Luka had a pleased smile that he could text you when he needed your help. 

"See ya!" 

\----------------------------------------------------------------

"Is it really true that if couples eat your ice cream they will always be together?" You asked the vendor as you peaked at the flavors, but it looked like the vendor was determined to keep his secrets. There goes your plan of bringing your parents to get this mystical ice-cream...

"Are you two a couple that wishes to be together?" The man asked, his smile growing bigger as he looked between you and Nathaniel.

"T-that's not it Mr. Andre, Y/N and I are just good friends."

"Super best friends!" You chime in, the comment made Nathaniel blush on how easily you made the comment.

"I can't argue with that. Well, then what should I get the two of you?"

"I'll have the regular, what would you like Y/N?"

"Suprise me!"

"How about this then: calming green tea, sweet cherry, and licorice for Y/N." Andre handed you the ice cream cone and you stared at how the colors crashed but seemed to make sense. As you gawked at the ice cream, you failed to notice that Nathaniel paid for your share causing you to look at him annoyed.

"That's not fair! Here, Mr. Andre, I'm paying for these cones." Waving your money you put them in the man's hands. 

"No need to pay me, these are in the house."

Puffing your cheeks you took back your money as Nathaniel did so as well. Still, you couldn't stay mad at Andre so you gave him a big thank you as you and Nathaniel sat by the Seine.

"Thank you, but I want to pay for our next outing..." Your voice was a bit sad as you took a spoonful of ice cream into your mouth.

"It's an unspoken rule to not let a lady pay on dates..." Nathaniel blurted out, he froze soon after his mind registered on what he said.

"Maybe so, but I was the one who set the date. But I still had fun, even if it didn't go as planned. I think I should invite Kagami to a 

date as well..." Your thoughts trailed off as you start to think about your friend. 

Though what you failed to notice was how Nathaniel had a puzzled look on how you wanted to go on a date with someone else. Did you not know what a date meant or was this just you pulling his leg?

"Y/N, what's a date for you?" Nathaniel asked.

"It's when you go out with friends and so stuff." The assertion was evident in your voice, it's as if that was the only meaning you had for the words.

Nathaniel sighed as, just as he suspected this wasn't an actual "date". A date for you did not carry the same meaning for him. Thankfully for Nathaniel, his phone buzzed on an incoming message.

_ "How's the date going?" It was from Alix. _

_ "Y/N thinks that a "date" is just an outing. How am I going to get the guts to confess to her now?" He quickly typed away, and response quickly came. _

_ "WAIT! Y/N THINKS THIS IS WHAT A DATE TRULY IS?! Know now that I think about it, Y/N has lived in different places maybe she doesn't know what it means in the cultural context in France." _

Of course, maybe Alix was right and you didn't know what a "date" meant in a different country. 

_ "Alright, but you need to help me as well." _


	12. Late Night Encounters

The street of Paris had its normal influx of people during the night. A perfect opportunity to sneak into the Mayor's office.

"As suspected, there really hasn't been any trace of actual robberies in the past weeks. The files showed the receipts of paid actors to make cheap montages of a fake me and other people." Magpie's voice came from their visor as they read the reports.

"Smart move from the government to give out false reports." Another distorted voice spoke from their earpiece as Magpie typed into the Mayor's computer. "Nothing to worry about it kid, you tend to have some news here and there. Use this as a publicity stunt."

Magpie sighed as they looked at the monitor, their company wasn't wrong, this was bound to happen sooner than later. For now, they'll let it slide and maybe use this as blackmail.

"I have the information, guess I can head out now then." Magpie secured the information in their drive. "Hmm think I should leave a sign that I was here?" 

"Not here, maybe in the next heist you can. Don't want this place to swarm with security, I won't always be here to give you a way out little bird."

The words of wisdom spoke, Magpie decided to follow the advice. Looking outside the window they spotted a good place to escape without being noticed. Taking the alleyways, Magpie spotted a figure sitting near a rooftop.

"What's wrong with you?" Magpie spoke, causing the figure to quickly turn around.

"Fancy meeting you here, looking for your next target?" Chat Noir teased causing Magpie to laugh.

"Nope just taking a stroll..." They sit next to him, but they could read his mind. "What do you want to ask me?"

"I know we just met, but are you really robbing places from everyday citizens? It doesn't sound like your work" Chat's voice wavered. It seems like the fake tabloids really made a dent in your credibility.

"I don't work with others, well I do but heists tend to just involve me. If I steal anything it will be from rich or bad people." Magpie shuffled through their pockets and pulled out a small paper with a waxed seal. "Here, if I ever leave this in a place then you'll know it was me."

"Are you sure about doing this? I don't condone your actions but I saw where your money has gone, the Mayor didn't seem too pleased with your last stunt." Chat took the paper looking over it, just a normal stationary you'd find in supply stores with a bird as the seal.

"Why is it that companies ask you to donate? It's for their tax break, they keep their money and yours goes to the charity. Helping others is good but not at the cost of the poor staying poor. That's why I do this, I will never harm others. If they get caught for doing something wrong it's because of their actions."

"Not that simple is it?"

Magpie laid down looking at the sky, they motioned Chat Noir to do the same. He followed and lay down to watch the sky with Magpie.

"Isn't that what makes life interesting? Nothing is simple but it's nice to have something other than mundane tasks."

"Would you tell me about yourself then?"

"Next time I'll tell you more for now let's enjoy the view."

Both Magpie and Chat Noir felt a familiarity between them, could it be because they found it easy to speak to one and another? Even though his questions didn't get answered by Magpie they still gave them a semblance of an answer or a set time to give him an answer. That was something Ladybug didn't give him, instead, it felt like a wall was being built with his crush. 

The night went by with some idle chat here and there until it was late. Magpie yawned behind their visor and looked at their new friend.

"Catch you later, got some stuff to do."

Magpie left, scaling buildings and jumping from roof to roof until Chat Noir couldn't see their figure. Chat followed suit and went his way home as well. Transforming out of his costume Adrien put the letter under the light of his lamp, staring at it to see if he could find something.

"Think they left a note?" Adrien asked Plagg who stared at the stationary.

"Looks like they did, there a faint glow..." Plagg put the stationary closer to the lightbulb, the heat revealed the message.

"Let's meet up soon..." Adrien let out a happy sigh, looks like he found a friend in Paris #1 thief.

\--------------------------------------------------------------

Staring at your ceiling you couldn't shake the feeling of making a mistake, the foreboding aura seems to engulf your mind. 

_ "Make sure your actions don't come to bite you in the ass..." _ Your mother's words echoed as you thought about it more. It was still too early to know if your action will have consequences.

You groaned and got off your bed to look for your father, maybe he can prove to have some wisdom for your problems. Knocking on his office, you heard some tools fall before he opened the door.

"What's wrong little one?" Your father motioned for you to enter his office, he was tinkering his old radio station before you came in.

"Do you think it will be a big problem?" Your voice sounded foreign, you were never this sad and afraid when asking your parents advice.

"I think not if anything it's just part of your youthfulness... I remember your grandmother telling me the same thing when I was your age. If you think its a problem then it just means you're thinking far enough in the future, but you also have the right to be a teenager." Your father hugged you close, causing you to sob a bit before thanking him. "What you do is up to you, we will never get angry at you."

That instant you felt another hand ruffle your hair, it was your mother who looked at you with the most adoring eyes.

"Y/N, you don't have to follow our footsteps you can always dedicate yourself to other things."

"Guess I'll keep doing what I want then!" You laughed in between hiccups, happy that your family supported you in every step.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try to update more consistently, lately, I've been caught up with language exams so I don't get much time to write or time. But I'd like to thank you all for your support and nice comments, they really make me smile seeing how others enjoy the story. If you have tips or comments I'm happy to receive them, just send them over to my Tumblr (ɔ◔‿◔)ɔ ♥


	13. Questions

"Tom it's great to see you again! Ready for a rematch from the last game?" Your father booming voice made you forget your troubles, he honestly acted like a kid in an adult boy. Your mother was pretty much the same but she hid it better than your father.

"Of course I am, and you brought Y/N should we have a father-daughter tag team match?"

A metal clank interrupted your father before he could speak. Turning to face the noise, you came face to face with Marinette's shocked face. 

"If it's not a bother then I accept your offer." Confidence oozing from your voice sent shivers through Marinette's body.

After two hours, you felt your finger cramp up from smashing the buttons to get combos. Your father cheered as the two of you beat Mr. Dupain and Marinette causing you to end the set.

Not long after the four of you decided to take a break, in the middle of sipping your tea your phone buzzed.

_ "I heard from Juleka that you're good in mathematics, do you happen to know how to do statistics?"  _ It was a message from Luka, out of all the things he could message you it had to be about math. Still, you wanted a break from playing videogames before your hand crapped up.

_ "I can look over the problems and help you out." _ You typed quickly, wincing how your thumbs hurt.

_ "Could you come over? Or should I meet you somewhere? I just finished my part-time job, so I can pick you up." _

_ "I'm at Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie, you can pick me up if you're nearby." _

_ "Ok, meet you in 5 minutes." _

"Dad, I'm going to help someone with their homework. Don't forget to do the groceries!" You kissed your father in the cheek and bid your good-byes to the Dupain-Chengs.

"Be careful!" Your father yelled from the window as he saw your form wait for your friend.

Unbeknownst to you, Marinette was looking at your figure. She yelped when she saw who came to pick you up. Your father noticed her sudden change and narrowed his eyes at the boy with blue hair.

"Marinette, is something wrong? Do you know the boy?" The was concern in his voice, Marinette felt guilty for causing your father to worry over her reaction.

"Oh, his name is Luka and he's the older brother of one of our classmates. He's in a band..."

"Yes, I think Y/N mentioned something about a band... Well, I'm sure she'll be fine, I trust her. Plus I know some good lawyers to help her out."

"Luka is really nice and kind... I'm also going to head-out, I promised my friend that I will go over to her house!"

With that Marinette also made her exit to meet up with the group of girls, today they all decided to It seemed the more she wanted to know the more she found it that she didn't know the most simple things. Her father proved to be the same, he knew little about your own father and just little things about their childhood.

Not only did she had many questions about your nature but Master Fu has asked her about you, and since she had little information to give she decided that asking her friends will be a good idea. She knew how close you and Alix were, hopefully, she can provide more information.

Marinette came to view with her friends who were setting up the picnic blanket on the grass. 

"Hey, Marinette come this way!"

The picnic was beautifully displayed, from the small sandwiches to the various juice boxes it seemed that Rose and Juleka had everything down to the smallest detail.

"Okay since we're all here I'd like to propose something..." Alix's voice hushed the many conversations of her friends, causing all eyes to fall on her. "I'd like for Y/N to be part of our little get-togethers, she doesn't have much of a social life other than tutoring so I thought it will be nice to invite her."

"I don't see why not, Y/N has helped us one way or another..." Mylene commented, making the girls nod their heads in agreement.

"She's helped me in translating certain articles when online translators kept giving me the wrong information." Alya said, causing Marinette to turn to her friend.

"She's a great projet partner, she's even helping Luka in music and his homework." Juleka added.

"But we don't know much about her other than school..." Marinette interrupted the conversation, the girls paused and looked at each other before agreeing to her comment.

"Y/N is a nice girl, she helped me catch up in all the work I missed. Plus she's really good friends with Adrien, Nathaniel, and me not to mention she invites us to her house whenever we feel like it! In fact, if I ask Y/N to take us to her house and she would agree!" Alix's voice radiated confidence, it amazed the other girls on how highly she thought about you.

"Then let's go to my house, she's currently helping Luka with some work, hopefully, she's still there..." Juleka added, the girls agreed and decided to head out.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

"You seem to get along with Nathaniel, the two of you are often together during the school day," Luka's voice caused you to shift your gaze from the music sheets towards him. "It's nice to see that he has another friend."

"Nathaniel was kind to me when I first arrived here, he and Alix are dear friends to me. Unlike my other classmates, the two of them didn't push me away when I gave my honest opinions..." Your mind went back to the question that caused the class to look at you like an alien. It was an honest answer and you didn't expect the reaction of your peers.

"I wonder if I can join their ranks, I've heard you play in the music room a while back would you like to be our keyboardist?"

"Nope." Your answer was cut and dry, causing Luka to strum an accidental note.

"You don't hold any punches, do you? Could you at least think about it?"

"No, I can help you get the needed keyboard parts but I don't want to join a band." You resumed making corrections and playing some keys, yet the air in the room felt different and you knew why. "Why the sudden interest in me helping you out? Don't you find me odd?"

"It's because I find you odd that I want to know more about you. Remember the tune I played when you first came to my room? Well, it's actually a little piece inspired by you, and the more I compose it and see you the more it changes."

It was your turn to be at a loss of words, someone as talented as Luka was composing a song even as going as far as admitting that to your face. Still joining a band wasn't the first thing on your list to dedicate yourself to.

"I don't think I want to join a band right now... I need to ask permission from my parents. " It was a half-truth, but it still needed to be given the okay by your family.

"I hope they let you, it'd be nice to see you more often and play by your side." Luka's hand touched your shoulder as he looked at you with the softest gaze you ever have seen in your life.

The moment was ruined as the door of his room was flung open.

"Y/N!" Alix's voice brought you back to your senses.

"Alix, what's up?" Your calm voice returned once more, still in a daze trying to think where have you seen that kind of gaze.

"Can the girls and I go to your house? I need to assess it to let you join our girl group."

"It's no bother, either way, I need to head home so let's go."

As you walked away from the Liberty, Luka oversaw how your demeanor changed. Just like the first day he met you, there was something about you as if he was meeting someone new with every encounter. 

_ 'I'd like to know more about you Y/N...' _ is all he could think about.


	14. Shoulder to Cry On

"Please make yourself at home, but refrain yourself from entering rooms that won't open." You told the girls as the marveled at the living room, it had a vintage vibe that seems to catch everyone's eye.

"Y/N why don't you have any family pictures?" Rose asked.

"My mother is superstitious, she believes that it traps souls. We don't have any pictures, what we do have are paintings and of that like..."

"It looks like a museum..." Marinette's comment made you nod.

"It's an inherited mansion, so we didn't change anything everything is as my great-uncle left it. Now then I'll show you my room, we can order food from there."

"D-do you have a bathroom?" Marinette asked.

"The last door in the left hall." You pointed the way, after seeing Marinette head to the bathroom you escorted the girls to your room. "I'll order some food, I'll be back." You pulled your phone and walked towards your balcony.

Checking your phone, you still couldn't shake Luka's words and his fixation on you. You're just another teen who plays the piano, maybe it was how different the culture was or the way your classmates seemed to always hang out with one and another. You just really missed your solitude, having this many people invested in you struck a chord. A quiet sob emerged from your body, great your stressed caused you to cry.

"That's it!" you muttered to yourself, you called Adrien it was about time he did you a solid.

"Y/N! It's nice of you to call me." Adrien's voice made you smile if you were going to be his confidant he also had to be yours. 

"Adrien I need a favor from you, please..." Your voice broke into quiet sobs, all you wanted is to rest.

"Anything for you, tell me what you need!"  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------  
"Tikki can you unlock the door?" Marinette asked as she encountered the 6th locked door, this whole mansion was full of rooms that had no access from the outside.

"Marinette you shouldn't do that, what if Y/N finds out? It can jeopardize our mission." Tikki chided her, she was right it was rude of her to ask Tikki to do so.

The 9th door Marinette tried was jammed but still open, she entered an old study that consisted of two levels. She looked over the shelves, there were books she could make the words they were in a different language. 

"This place looks lovely, it's like those old romance movies..." Marinette spoke, her voice echoing in the room.

"Even in old romance movies, you need to ask permission to enter rooms that you're not invited to..." A female voice startled Marinette, making her into a vase, causing it to fall and break spilling some ashy substance along the carpet.

The figure walked down the stair, elegance evident in the way she held herself. She looked over Marinette, it held the same gaze Y/N did when she was in the company of others.

"Quite splendid, now great-aunt Catalina is on the floor once more. Did my daughter tell you not to snoop around?" Mrs. L/N spoke as she looked for another container to put the ashes in.

"I'm sorry I didn-"

"Leave now, don't come here again." Your mother's voice was raised.

"Mother, what's wrong?" You asked as you looked at the image before you, ashes on the ground and your mother's annoyed look caused shivers down your back.

"Y/N we have spoken about bringing guests, please refrain from bringing the skittish girl to our home. If your guests continue to behave like this I will need to ground you for the messes they have created."

"I'm sorry for my friend Mrs. L/N, Marinette is really clumsy." Alya tried to pacify your mother, which only caused her to furrow her brows.

"Y/N escort your guests, we need to speak about some personal matters..."

"Yes, mother." You motioned the group to follow down to the entrance gates, you didn't fault your mother for being angry she had the right to be upset.

"Y/N we're really sorry..." Mylene spoke to relieve the awkward air.

"Girls I'm sorry but please don't come to my house anymore, having a big group has caused me trouble and a broken antique. Alix, you're still welcomed but Marinette doesn't set a foot on this house, I asked all of you to follow a simple rule: not to enter locked doors, you broke that rule, therefore, I will not vouch for your actions. Good-bye..." 

Returning to the study you looked at your mother as she swept the remaining ashes out of the floor.

"That girl is noisy, don't associate yourself with her." Your mother commanded. "Was that a good act or no?" Her usual persona resurfaced as she threw away the ashes.

"It was a good plan what can I say, I knew she'd look for the nearest door that was unlocked. I still can't trust her..."

"Good, you're finally maturing. Well then, go to Adrien's house to catch a break. Be home by 8 pm for dinner."  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"Y/N sounded really sad, I wonder what caused that..." Adrien spoke to Plagg as he set down some snacks the maid brought in.

"If she wanted to come over maybe she has something to tell you..." Plagg teased causing Adrien to blush on what would be the reason for you to call him on the verge of tears.

"Adrien, can I come in?" Your voice was heard from the other side of the door, it resonated with sadness.

"Y/N what's wrong?" Adrien opened the door to find your puffy eyes meeting his emerald ones.

"I got overwhelmed by the girls who wanted to come over, lately I wanted to be by myself. Then Marinette broke an urn of my great-aunt causing my mother to ban having that many friends over..."

Adrien sat you on his sofa and you grabbed a pillow hiding your face from him. A few sobs escaping here and there, he couldn't help but feel his heart shrink at your misfortunes.

The sobs were genuine, they were from stress rather than sadness. The stress of having others near you and wanting to be left alone. It was the first time you had this much contact with people, it felt as if you were walking on eggshells.

Your sobs were interrupted as you felt Adrien pull the pillow away from your face before you could create space his arms enveloped your form, causing your cheek to meet his shoulder.

"Adrien you shouldn't do this..." This was one action you didn't foresee.

"Y/N you've become a dear friend to me, so much so that you help me get out of my house to hang out with other people. It was selfish on my part to see how much anxiety this has caused you, still you pulled through just for me."  
  
You felt his hand soften some of the hairs that fell on your face, the softness of his features caused your heart to skip a beat. Your hands meet his, pulling them away from your face and into your lap. There was a pregnant pause before you found the right words.

"You're too nice Adrien, thanks for being my lifeline..." Someone like Adrien was bound to get used, he was so easy to befriend it gave you another reason for him not to get involved in your antics.

"Speaking of lifelines, I got asked to be a model in a music video for Clara Nightingale. And I was wondering if you'd like to come with me."

"Won't it bother your father if we started to hang-out outside of tutoring?"

"Father seems to like you very much, he's been praising me, all thanks to you so it shouldn't be a problem."

You fidgeted with your fingers, being seen with Adrien was bad enough with the amount of press attention he gets regularly. 

Adrien saw your hesitation and mentally cursed himself for asking, you were just crying a minute ago of how overwhelmed you were.

"I'll go if it makes you happy its alright." Your thumbs traced circles on his hand as you held them.

"Alright, I still don't know the date for the event. It should be after the music festival."

"Are you going to attend the music festival? If I remember correctly Jagged Stone will be there and you're his fan."

"I don't have permission to go..."

"Well I guess I won't go either, I'm not good with loud noises."

You spent the afternoon with Adrien, talking about many topics. At times the two would play melodies that caused the workers of the house to listen in. At one point Mr. Agreste also peaked in to see what caused his son to play different tunes, only to find the two of you playing silly tunes.

"Ms. L/N it seems like your presence has motivated Adrien to become a better pianist." His tone was a happy one, you gave him a warm smile at his high praise.

"Thank you very much, Adrien is a good student and I'm happy he's finding pleasure in playing the piano."

"It seems that my son benefits from the relationship between you and him, therefore I'd like for you to be his friend. Someone level-headed as you will make sure he doesn't become acquaintances with the wrong crowd."

"I won't disappoint you, sir."

Gabriel left Adrien's room, that man sure did have a presence as he seemed to suck the air of the room as he entered and left. You exhaled your breath that you didn't even know you had.

"Want to shoot some hoops?" Adrien asked.

"Best 4 out of 6 buys the loser dessert!"

This was a nice way to end the most stressful day of your life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a bad day, but writing more chapters for the fic helped me feel less sad. If you ever feel sad feel free to vent anonymously on my Tumblr. 
> 
> P.S tell me if you'd like paragraph indentations for future chapters if so I'll apply the same changes in my previous chapters as well.


	15. Preparations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I rewrote part of the story to fit the other polls that are now archived. Hopefully, you guys like how the story is shaping so far, and now that the other half of the season is out in Netflix I can watch the episodes.

"Alix, do you think Y/n's mother can forgive me after breaking the urn?" Marinette asked her friend as the two of them video-chatted. 

"That's something you should ask Nathaniel, I often leave early or fall asleep in her house. Hold on let me add him to the call..."

"Alix? Marinette?" Nathaniel was expecting a video-call but a group video chat.

"Nathaniel, do you know what kind of gifts Y/n mom's likes? I accidentally broke something valuable and got her in trouble."

"I'm at a loss as well, I rarely see Y/n's parents. And when I do they just greet me and leave..."

"D-do you think Y/n is ignored by her parents?" Alix asked, causing the other two to think about her statement.

"Indeed they're never home, and Y/n doesn't speak much about them. But Y/n doesn't strike me as having problems with her parents. I also don't want to speak ill of Y/n. Good luck getting into their good graces Marinette." Nathaniel cut his side of the call.

"Thanks for trying Alix, I'll see you at the music festival..." Marinette gave her friend a sad smile and hanged up.

"I told you not to snoop around Y/n's house, now she's in trouble." Tikki lectured Marinette.

"I know, I need to make it up to her somehow..."

\---------------------------------------------------------------------

Putting on your clothes you couldn't help but look at how beat up certain sections were, it gave a bit of charm to the outfit. You made a mental note to fix it later.

"I fixed the hook on your grapple gun, maybe we should get you a new one but you do like the classics." Your father handed you the equipment, though he still did most of the repairs he made it obvious that you should learn a thing or two.

"I went over the plan, it looks like the jewels are coming later tonight. I'll scout the area to see if there's any change."

"Magpie really is covering all her bases, well then go get them. I'll be looking over you from the office."

Putting on your mask you adjusted to the green tones of night vision. Even though this was the third mission it will be the first one without your parent's guidance. 

"Milvago to Magpie, everything is ready from my end." Your father's filtered voice gave you the green light. 

Going from roof to roof you couldn't help staring at the dark city. One thing is for sure, some of these ceilings needed a repair maybe the next funds should go on making repairs to these homes.

"Target in sight, normal security and a few men in suits..." Installing cameras around the area you scouted the possible escape routes. If push comes to shove you could always use a smoke bomb. "Will it be too much if I use plan Atlantis?"

"Better safe than sorry, install the gadgets just in case..."

"Glad to hear from you, Dove! Say wha-"

"No flirting, if so use the other line..." You grunted at your parents, though you admired them for keeping their relationship strong you didn't want to betray their trust in you.

After installing the necessary devices you checked the holo-pad to see if they were connected. Green across the board, tomorrow is going to be a blast!

"Going to walk around, maybe I can sniff out the next heist." You beeped your parents at the other end.

"Rodger that, say hello to the cat if you see him!" Your mother teased, you rolled your eyes at her.

"Dove I think our little Magpie roller her eyes on us. Maybe she'll get lucky enough like us..."

"A yes I still remember our first heist in New York, back then we used to be enemies right Milvago?"

"Alright give me the details later love birds." Cutting off communication you decided to stroll around the rooftops near the River. 

Looking around you saw the Liberty in her glory, you still needed to ask for permission but that's a problem for another day. Shaking your head you decided to move to the Effiel tower to get a bird's view of the city.

"We really have to stop meeting like this..." You turned your gaze upwards to face Chat Noir, looking at you from a higher level.

"We could go to the movies, but that will mean getting everyone's attention on my marvelous date." Chat winked causing you to laugh.

"How will I explain to the cops that I'm just hanging out with my friend? They will probably send you to jail with me, but I'll get you out either way."

"You would really risk that much just so we could hang out?" Chat's ears perked up as he moved closer, he seemed to remind you of someone but you drew a blank on who exactly he reminded you of.

"Yeah I would, if we didn't meet like this I'd honestly would've wanted to be part of your team. Though I'm sure your crush might not agree to it..."

"My Lady seems to like someone else... but I also have someone dear to me now she's been such a good friend to me."

"That's nice, I also met someone dear to me as well. Though they started off following me around and between all that I can say I'd rob anything they desired."

"Can I ask you a question?" Chat's voice wavered, causing you to inspect his face for some answers.

"Go ahead, I'll answer as best as I can."

"If we met as civilians, would we be able to recognize each other?"

"I doubt it, but I think it'd be nice someday if we could meet up together."

You gave Chat a pat on the shoulder, you really wished it would turn out that way. But his heart seemed too invested in helping Paris for him to join you. That alone gave you peace of mind on how his heart was in the right place.

On the corner of your eye, you spotted a flying object heading straight for you, without much thought you grabbed Chat's staff to deflect the item. Handing back the staff to him you searched for answers, but it seemed that he too did not know about the attack.

"Stop right there you thief, I won't let you get away this time!" Ladybug's voice caught the attention of the two of you.

"But I didn't steal anything, your partner can search me if he wants..." Lifting your hands you motioned Chat to frisk you for any stolen goods. "Go ahead, just don't touch anything I don't want you to get hurt." You whispered at him.

Chat's heart was at the crossroads, on one hand, he wanted Ladybug to let you go. But on the other, he knew that she didn't believe you were innocent. He pated you down, careful not to hit any gadget. He knew well that he would have to comply with her if she wanted to take you in.

He needed to get you to escape, he tried to search for an answer until he saw you flicker your wrist. You turned to face Ladybug who had her yo-yo ready to attack. In a swift movement a small card appeared on your hand, Chat knew it was meant for him.

"See nothing stolen, but I need to head out dinner is waiting."

"No, you're not!" Ladybug flings her weapon once more and it wraps around you. 

As on cue, your suit lets out a smoke allowing you to get free as the two superheroes coughed. Handing Chat the letter you quickly made it out of the scene without a trace of your previous appearance.

"Where is she?!" Ladybug said between coughs.

"I can't see anything!" Chat responded, hiding the letter you gave to him.

By the moment the smoke dispersed you were in a different section of Paris. Checking your items nothing seemed out of place, you let out a sigh as your earpiece beeped indicating an incoming call.

"Magpie here, just some ruffled feathers..."

"Good to hear that, come back already we need to make sure all items are restocked."

Opening the nearest sinkhole you made your way back home. Silently praying that Chat was able to hide your letter from his partner.

\------------------------------------------------------------------

"Plagg, claws in," Adrien whispered as he landed safely in his room. Without wasting time he took the letter you gave him, he needed to know the contents inside them.

_ If you're reading this that means our usual meeting spot is no longer safe, we can meet up somewhere else but I won't say where. But I will give you a hint: its a garden near trains. I'm sure you'll figure it out soon enough, so meet me in a week after you received the letter around 11pm.  _

_ P.S I'm not the one behind the bank robberies, I work alone. _

"That Magpie sure likes playing tricks don't they, maybe we should just let them join the team so she can solve everything." Plagg commented.

"She and Ladybug don't seem to get along, we been entrusted with bringing Magpie to the Mayor due to all the thefts pointing to them. But she says its not her..." Could it be possible that Magpie was telling the truth?

"Well tell me this, do they strike you as the type to lie?"

Adrien thought about the late-night conversation with Magpie, though both hid behind a mask they never once caused trouble for him. And Magpie didn't seem to work for Hawkmoth since they also didn't show any interest in the miraculous...

"No, I trust them, even though I don't know the face beneath the mask they're not the type to lie."

Adrien got ready to sleep, tomorrow was going to be a busy day.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Want to give feedback? Send it this way--> https://forms.gle/gvsCiWcfD2j13s9M7


	16. Carper: Stolen Jewels

You woke up to the sound of your phone buzzing, searching for the device you saw it was a video call from Nino.

"Yeah..." You responded rubbing your eyes as they adjusted to the light of day.

"Dudette we were wondering if you'll be coming to the Liberty, Luka is going to perform a song that the two fo you composed. Luka, tell Y/N to come!" Nino grabbed Luka so he will fit on the frame.

Luka could believe his eyes, to see you so relaxed and barely awake made his heart skip a beauty if anything you were a natural beauty in his eyes.

"No I'm not going, I got grounded so I'm staying home to rearrange the library." You wrapped your covers around your head and gave them a sad smile. 

"Did you really get that much in trouble..." Alya came into view, she looked concerned.

"Yeah, even if I did finish early I still have lots of other punishments my mother gave me. Plus my dad is at home and he's inspecting how well I do the chores. "

Luka's heart sank a bit, are your parents really that harsh on your mistakes? Are they the reason why you didn't want to join the band in the first place?

A knock at your door caused you to yelp in surprise.

"Y/N hurry up the library isn't going to clean itself!" Your father's booming voice was heard from the other side.

"See ya guys, have fun." You gave them a small wave before hanging up.

As the call ended Luka's face couldn't hide his disappointment, it was true that Kitty Section was going to play the song the two of you arranged but it all went to waste if you can't see it. But what caused such a harsh punishment?

"Nino, Alya, do you know why Y/n got grounded?" Luka asked.

"We went to her house and Marinette broke an urn that had her great-aunt in it, so Mrs. L/n told Y/n not to bring such a big group like us or Marinette back again. Mrs. L/n gives the same vibes as Adrien's father but she's more passive-aggressive about it." Alya told him.

It was little information but he could deduce that indeed your parents did have a stronghold on you. Was that the underlying reason why you said no to his proposal?

"Nino, could you please record the band playing? I want to send it to Y/n." Luka spoke, Nino nodded at the simple request. "Thank you, I really wanted Y/N to see it live, maybe I'll perform it for her one day but it will have to wait..."

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

With all the buzz from the music festival, you couldn't help but think that today was a good day to steal the trafficked gems. The group of people who contacted you about their predicament didn't want to end like one of their friends who failed to mine the emeralds earlier that year. With enough information, you were able to pinpoint their next trip to get the jewels extracted from the group.

_ 'It's both smart and sloppy to have the jewelers trade inside the store...'  _ You thought to yourself, it was one thing to have a warehouse to do all the illegal trades but this was both practical and controlled. Meaning there was no room for error.

After a few hours, Paris was filled with loud music from all sides, it was the perfect opening for the smuggler to enter the store. Using the front entrance was out of the question for you, you hand no choice but using the fire escape.

Knocking one by one the security personnel on the roof had little warning of your actions. Everything was calculated to the smallest detail... that is until you saw the Effiel tower get hit by... speakers?

"Great..." You muttered, entering the secured building you needed to close everything down before the transaction ended.

Checking to see if everyone was down you spotted the safe the hid all the gems and money. All that was left if to take them out of the building with the documents and cash.

_ 'Maybe a little treat for myself...'  _ You couldn't help your sticky fingers as you saw the next collection of jewelry sitting idly in the office. It was for the next fashion expo, but they deserved a better fate than being an accessory for the rich.

After analyzing the pieces you decided to take them into your bag, there was nothing that could track them back to you. Plus it will be an early present for your mother when you see her the next time around.

The beeping of your earpiece gave you a bad taste, it wasn't supposed to beat unless there was bad news.

"Dove to Magpie, the superheroes are now with the villain we estimate you have around 10mins. 

You huffed at the time crunch, moving the gems will be an easy task but you disliked being pressured to finish the job quickly. Luckily today was a busy day for the company in more ways than one. Which meant lax security if you had the correct uniform.

On cue, you took the delivery motorcycle set for the escape. Without much worry, you rode to the nearest checkpoint to get clear of the heist.

"Papers please..." The tired security asked as he looked at you, "All set but you'll have to wait till Ladybug does her thing."

Waiting for the signal clearance was going to be a hassle since the lockdown included most of the streets in Paris. Through your vizor helmet, you looked at the small TV the security guard had, it was broadcasting the superhero due fighting a weird villain.

"Honestly these are the only things that make my job less boring..." The guard spoke to you, you nodded eagerly.

"It makes my job harder though..." you faked an accent and the guard nodded at your statement. 

"Miraculous Ladybug!" The screen yelled, everything went back to normal as Ladybugs engulfed the city.

"Alright see you next week..."

After a few miles around the city of Paris, you finally got to the shop the motorbike belongs to. Faking to go out to another delivery you disposed of the bike a few miles later.

Another job well done.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------

_ "Today we had another villain run around Paris but the true scoop is the illegal emerald trade that has been going on for years in this prominent jewelry chain..."  _ The reporter's voice was rampant in all the screens as the music festival became background noise, everyone had too many questions on how could someone capitalize on such an event.  _ "All we have for sure is the link sent by Magpie assuring this was indeed their doing. Our station was lucky enough to have a written note from the thief! Not much is said other than the details of why this operation took place. Here's the document, it states: _

_ Dear people of Paris, I work alone and all those robberies are not my doing. The link sent to your phones come from my own discoveries, don't trust anyone otherwise. Only the links sent to your phone and the letters given to these outlets. _

_ "We also have news that Magpie left a little gift with the letter, sadly the Parisian police took it as evidence. But they did leave this giant graffitied bird, according to specialists its a Magpie! The police also found this adorable letter addressed to the CEO of the jewelry chain. For now on we will give you updates over the internet, Magpie themself has given us the true link to their antics please fo-" _

Adrien paused the video as he arrived at your house. His father gave him permission to go see his friends perform and he wanted to share that experience with you as well.

Ringing the bell he came face to face your father.

"Adrien, it's nice of you to visit, are you here for Y/n? If so I'm sorry to say she's grounded..."

"I know that Mr. L/n but our friends are going to play a song Y/N helped compose and I want her to hear it. Could she please come with me just this once?" Adrien asked your father.

"Under one condition... you come over for dinner next week!" Your father exclaimed Adrien couldn't help but agree to his request. "Now then Y/n is in the basement go get her."

Adrien sprinted to meet you, it was his turn to come and save you even if you didn't need saving you will be his first priority. His feelings for you started to deepen from that day on...

\---------------------------------------------------------------------

"So you bought these earplugs to lessen the noise of the band?" You asked Adrien as you looked at the items in your hand. They looked like small plugs you have seen your uncle wear in family reunions. Regardless you put them on and found them quite comfy to use.

"You said loud noises made you anxious so I brought these just in case." 

You pinched Adrien's cheek in response to his actions, it was nice of him to remember that small detail.

"Thanks, Adrien!" You gave him a hug, to which he happily returned back with such force that he twirled you around a bit. The two of you laughed at the sudden outburst of affection.

"Y/n! Adrien!" Ivan's voice was too far to hear due to festivals happening around the place.

"Adrien is hugging Y/n?!" Mylene's loud whisper caught the attention of everyone on the boat, in a snap everyone was watching the scene unfold.

Marinette couldn't believe her eyes, you and Adrien were laughing as he held you in a tight hug. Not only that but he offered you his arm to interlock with yours as the two of you made way to the ship. Jealously fueled her mind, what took 

"Hey, guys we're finally here!" Adrien exclaimed as all of his classmates huddled to the two of you, curious eyes at the sudden affection they witnessed.

"Y/n I thought you were grounded?" Alya asked, still skeptical at your sudden appearance.

"Y/n's father gave her permission," Adrien interjected, you only nodded at the sudden attention. "Plus she shouldn't miss the song she composed!"

You blinked at the sudden attention, from the looks of it neither Ayla or Marinette bought the story. Meekikly hiding behind Adrien you were debating if it really was a good idea to come here after all.

"I'm glad you're no longer grounded Y/n, come sit over here we have a spot for you." Luka's warm smile brought you to ease as you took the seat he offered to you.

Seeing Kitty Section rock out brought a smile to your face, even more when you saw Adrien play the keyboard part you composed. After every song, you clapped in excitement from the energy the band oozed. It was the first time you've seen a band, most of your time was filled with either rehearsals or training.

Not long after you found yourself dining on the pizzas your classmates bought to celebrate the festival.

"What's that on your ear Y/n?" Mylene asked when she spotted the earplugs.

"Adrien brought these noise reduction plugs. I get really anxious with loud noises..." You said sheepishly.

"So... you didn't listen to the music or what we told you?" Marinette interjected, causing your classmates to whisper among each other.

"I heard the music and when you guys spoke to me I was able to read your lips. Sorry to cause you guys trouble but I'm just really bad with sounds..." You scratched the back of your neck at the sudden peering eyes, it was still something you needed to get used to but it felt different when it came from people your age.

"Dudette that's so cool! How can you read lips?" Nino's enthusiasm broke the awkward air around your earbuds.

"My cousin is deaf, so we had to rely mostly on lip-reading when he couldn't sign some phrases. After a while, my cousins and I developed the habit to read lips in case we wanted to pull pranks on each other." Taking a bite out of your pizza you saw how your classmates were impressed with that small little fact.

"Y'know we don't know a lot about you Y/n..." Alya thought out loud causing you to stiffen and the possibility of telling your life story to strangers.

"I think Y/n will share that when she's ready." Luka remarked, if you didn't know better you would bet he was either a mind reader or knew enough body language to tell how you felt about the subject. You peacefully played with a loose strand of your hair as you thank the world for people like Luka.

"I'm not that special. I'm just Y/n L/n, who's in love with all forms of art." Your sudden declaration caught the ears of many. Some gave you doleful looks and others looked at you with more intrigue. "Well anyway I think we should get going before your dad comes looking for you." You turned to Adrien who caught on and followed you out of the ship.

Once on dry land, you waived at your classmates' goodbye. Adrien and you decided to walk to your house and later call his driver to pick him up.

"Y/n, I think you're special. You've brought me many joys and freedoms to my life. Even now I'm happy to just walk with you." Adrien told you bashfully, you thanked the low lights of the streets because he couldn't see your red face.

"T-thanks that's sw-weet of you..." The sudden confession caused you to stutter a response. Out of everyone you couldn't believe he would praise you. "But really there's no need to praise me that high, I'm happy enough to be a shoulder you can lean on. You've grown on me a lot."

Now it was Adrien's turn to blush, your words impacted him profoundly enough to cause his heart to skip a beat. After Marinette and Chloe, you were the third girl he considered a true friend, but deep down he knew you were more than that to him.

"Would you like to come over and play videogames tomorrow? Nino asked me to come over but it'd be nice if you were there..." His words trailed off.

"You mean you need your golden ticket huh?" You pinched his cheek teasingly as you laughed at his weird way of asking you to help him out. 

"Is that a yes?"

"Anything for you."

Adrien swore he was living a beautiful dream when he saw you smile at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Want to give feedback? Send it this way--> https://forms.gle/gvsCiWcfD2j13s9M7


	17. Of Phones and Tunes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When I made my first poll someone recommended a "fake dating" au, so I'm trying my hand on that :)

"How much do you price these?" You looked over your father's hunched figure as he inspected the many gems you brought back home.

"Around 22K, most will go to the villagers, they agreed to give us one of each kind as a reward but I would rather them keep the whole lot. Someone from our end will help them set this business up without a problem."

You smiled, it was an honest job to steal what has been stolen. Mostly now since this was the first official robbery you put your seal on. But that also meant one more thing...

"When is the coming of age ceremony?" You asked.

"That's for you to decide chickling, you're finally in the big leagues!" Your father hugged you tight almost leaving you breathless at his happiness for your achievement.

"I'll begin the planning, you're in charge of the food and mom is in charge of decorating. I'll design the invitations!"

"At your service boss!" Your father mocked a salute and you laughed at his antics. "Off to bed with you, tomorrow is a brand new day!"

Skipping up the steps you couldn't help but look at the many paintings of your family tree. To be part of them in the hall of fame in all of the safe houses was a big step. Y/n L/n was now part of the new generation of thieves and nothing meant more than following down that path.

_ 'One step closer to the big leagues!'  _ You gave a silent fist bump to the air and made your way to your room.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------

"Ready for some videogames?" Adrien asked as the two of you made your way to the parking garage. Completing your first mission meant you now had access to your own scooter to run around the city.

"Yup! Adrien check this babe out!" You motioned to the bike as you pulled off the sheet hiding it. It had been adapted to your liking and you couldn't help but jump around in happiness.

"Woah!"

After much gawking you gave Adrien a helmet for safety and headed out to Nino's place. Though you didn't plan on playing videogames it would be a good opportunity to observe what people your age were up to.  Entering Nino's house you found Alya and Marinette fixing the snacks, nearly dropping it at the sudden arrival of the two of you. Giving them a small wave you made your way to the corner sofa pulling out your tablet to look at the possible stationery for the event.

"You sure you don't want to play?" Adrien asked you swore you saw him pout a bit when you shook your head and gave him a reassuring smile.

"I'll play later, so save a game for me." Bringing your gaze back on the tablet you zero into the two possible stationary, now all you needed was the color palette to go with it.  Being in a public space still meant you had to keep an eye out, you were right when you saw Marinette's gaze shift to your tablet. Brushing it off you kept your pace of the task. If she asked you could just tell her it was for a charity event your parents were planning.

"Y/n... I'm sorry about the vase..." Marinette's voice made you nod at her apology. "That looks very nice are you doing a collage?"

"Yeah..."

Your short response nearly made Marinette tear her hair off. She was really trying on getting to know you but it proved difficult with how defensive you were.

"Do you think you could teach me how to play an instrument? My mom has been asking me to play one but I don't know what to pick."

"Busy..." It wasn't a lie, you had other things to worry about. "If you pick something I'll see if I can teach you."

"Y/n it's your turn to play dudette!" Nino waved the controller in front of you. You took the controller looking at the buttons and the positions of them.

To your luck, it was a mini-tournament between you and the other four in the room. It was a fun brawling game you played at Adrien's house a bunch of times so you knew your way around the game. Breezing through most of the matches allowed you to relax until you had to fight Marinette's character. The moment she landed a critical hit made you sit-up right to give the game your uttermost focus; still, she wasn't a threat when you hit the combos to k.o her character of the screen.

"Y/n you should play competitively!" Alya shook your figure once you saw the winning screen.

"I'm thinking of becoming some type of artist... maybe I'll accept that career choice. Videogames help me blow off steam so I don't want that to be my job."

"So that's how you improved your skill..." Nino patted Adrien's back making him smile as his eyes fell on your form.

"Adrien is a nice partner to play with or against so he's good practice." Your sincere smile caused the four in the room to gasp. "Did I say something bad?"

"No, it's just we're seeing a side of you we didn't know existed..." Alya stated.

"Oh, just that..." You returned the controller to Nino and resumed looking at the stationary, not thinking twice about their surprised faces.

The videogame outing went longer than expected and you found yourself dozing off as time passed. Eventually, you fell asleep on the couch's armrest as the sounds lulled you asleep. 

It wasn't until you felt your hair being brushed away from your face that you woke up. Still, in a haze, you swatted the hand gently as you nuzzled closer to the armrest.

"Y/n?" A voice was speaking but you could tell who it was.

"Gato pequeno, sai"* You told the voice wanting to resume your nap. It wasn't until you felt the voice louder and the hand petting your hair that you woke up.

"Morning sleeping beauty." Adrien's bright smile blinded you, you still felt hazy so it felt more intensified when he did that.

"I feel asleep, I'm sorry." You stretched feeling your bones pop in place. "Is it time to go now?"

"Sadly it is, plus we have to practice our piano duet for my father."

You nodded and yawned your goodbyes to Adrien's three friends. Making your way to the scooter you still felt a little sleepy from your previous nap. 

"We're going to make a stop at the gas station and get a drink."

"Can we get some other snacks?"

"Sure thing."

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

Adrien was that kind of guy you felt your godfather would deem a 'good chap', mostly due to the fact he never let you carry any of the bags from the gas station. That and because he took photos with his fans if they asked for one. All in all a good 'chap'.

"Y/n I-... Hello, Adrien are you staying for dinner?" Your mother asked, ask she opened your door. 

"Yes, Nathalie allowed me to stay longer at your house when I told her about dinner."

"That's good to hear, oh and Y/n check your phone, your cousin left a message." Your mother excused herself and you rummaged through your bag to find your phone.

"Looks like I lost it..." You sighed and looked at your bookcase to try to find out where you left it. "Adrien, can you call Nino, please?"

After sometime Adrien hanged up and gave you a frown.

"No luck huh... Maybe call my phone to see if someone picks up."

Once more the two of you had no luck, it was going to be a chore to get it back but nothing important was in it. Plus you used a system that wiped out everything if it was a certain distance away from your bracelet.

"Let's play some tunes, why don't we upload one to your social media account? Your fans would love that."

"Only if you play by my side then."

"Deal."

(*Portuguese for stop small cat)

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Marinette was in a crossroads, your phone buzzed a few times during the evening and she received a call from Alya to ask about it. Still, Marinette looked at the content of the phone to find nothing.

"How does a girl her age not have this thing locked? Or anything mildly interesting in it?!"

"Maybe she doesn't have anything to hide. You should giver her phone next time you see her." Tikki as always was the voice of reason.

Your phone buzzed with a notification on your social media account. It was vacant aside from the many forms of art you posted or the other painters you followed. The notification, on the other hand, was from a post from Adrien who uploaded a video of the two of you playing.

"Ragtime to pass the time." Marinette read the caption out loud and scrolled through the comments. Her mouth agape as she saw the amount of support the two of you had as you smiled at each other playing the tune. "People think Y/n is Adrien's girlfriend?!"

"It's just the internet if anything Y/n said Adrien is like a sibling," Tikki interjected.

"Right, right, siblings... friends..."

It was going to be a long night for many, but especially long for Marinette as she scrolled down to read the comments. Deep down she hoped that your feelings for Adrien were that of just a close friend who you could call family, but there was something in Adrien's smile and gaze when it fell on your form that said otherwise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Want to give feedback? Send it this way--> https://forms.gle/gvsCiWcfD2j13s9M7


	18. Soulmates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a tie between Luka and Adrien in the poll if you haven't voted please do so. I also added the option to give feedback, don't worry if it sounds mean I'll accept it either way. Part of writing is getting critiqued and it's a fun thing to read (in my opinion^^). If You want to see something in the story you can also comment that.
> 
> Want to give feedback? Send it this way--> https://forms.gle/gvsCiWcfD2j13s9M7
> 
> School is shut down due to Coronavirus, so I'll be more active.

On your way school, you made a mental note to ask about your phone to Marinette. Last night it pinged your location as she went through your apps. She hit one that pinged it to your computer making it easy to know its location.

Looking through your tablet as you waited in the classroom, you couldn't help but miss your phone it had lots of music you listened to when you wanted to pass time.

"Y/N how was your weekend?" Nathaniel asked though you could sense he was mildly irritated in something.

"Busy I had to do a lot of cleaning but I managed to get some done. Not my luckiest weekend, but not the worst either. What's got you upset?"

"Were friends right? You'd tell me anything?" Nathaniel's voice didn't waiver, out of all the times he could be nervous he didn't want it to be now.

"When it comes to you I'm an open book." You tilted your head, you didn't know what has gotten him this upset. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, it's just that... there's a rumor going around that you and Adrien are a couple. And it saddens me you didn't tell me about it since we tell each other everything." Well mostly everything, Nathaniel still had his feelings for you hidden away. 

"Adrien and I are more like kindred spirits so there's nothing romantic, albeit I don't know what it means to fall in love but I'm sure that isn't what going on." It was a surreal feeling but after a while, you and Adrien have grown close enough to think of him as a good friend. Even as a good friend you found yourself enjoying his company and looking forward to practicing with him.

"Oh..." Nathaniel was at a loss of words, though you had explained the misunderstanding it looked as if he wasn't the closest one to your heart like he thought. "What kind of person do you like then?"

"Hmmm..." Your eyebrows knitted together as you thought about the question. "I guess the type of person that makes me feel comfortable like when you wear your favorite pair of jeans. Or a person that makes me enjoy the quietness around us."

"By the latter guess you and me are soulmates." Nathaniel tried to brush it off as a joke.

"True we are soulmates, it doesn't have to be romantic for people to fall in love with each other, people just gravitate around one and another and we call that love." The theory behind love and whom you loved reminded you of how your parents tried to explain the concept to you, even now it sounded foreign to think about it. "Well then, I need to refill my water bottle so I'll be back..."

Making your way to the fountain you spotted Luka, the idea of working with him as more than a beta listener did catch your interest but you doubted you could be part of a band since you were more of a soloist. Seeing him look at you from the other side of the room you gave him a small nod and preceded to fill your bottle.

"Y/N!" Marinette's voice nearly made your bottle fall from your hand.

"Yeah?"

"I found your phone, it fell in my bag when you moved around to sleep." Marinette handed you the device. "Once I saw a message from your mother I knew it was yours but I didn't know who to contact..."

"It's okay, it's just a phone so there's not much to it. Thanks, either way, Marinette, I owe you one." 

You knew for a fact that your phone did not simply fall, you felt it being taken out of your pocket as you started to doze off. Marinette had a lot of guts to take it out and keep it for the day, you can't outsmart a thief that easily! Looking through your phone you saw that nothing was missing or installed but you did have a lot of notifications in your Instagram account. 

_ 'So that's what the buzz is all about'  _ Adrien pinned you with him when he posted the video of the duet, it was cute seeing how the two of you played in perfect sync. The comments were really fun to read, most of them thought the two of you as a couple and others called you a stunning artist.

Closing the app you found your other messages, nothing that could tie you with your double life. You had a work phone and a day phone to avoid such a catastrophe from happening. What did surprise you was Luka's message.

_ "Kitty Section is still looking for a keyboardist if you decide to play we'll keep you anonymous." _

_ "Okay I don't mind playing, I had to speak to my family about joining a band and get their permission." _ It was a lie, even if you decided to become a thief and a musician they wouldn't be against it. Being in a band also meant alibis if you tied them together for other heists. 

"Looks like you found your phone!" Adrien's voice made you look up from your screen, a smile graced your lips as you nodded.

"Marinette said it fell on her bag, my pockets aren't that deep so it tends to happen a lot."

"That was nice of her to keep it safe..." Adrien went on to chat with you about his afternoon at your house, from the sound of it he really enjoyed eating with your family causing you to laugh when he spoke about your father's jokes.

"Dad tends to pull goofy stunts like that, he has a list full of dad jokes which are the best!" You bantered as the two of you made way to the class. The conversation lasted long until more people started to trickle in looking at the two of you chatting the time away. 

Nathaniel, on the other hand, looked at you from afar, he couldn't shake the feeling that he can't be that close with you like Adrien is. Still, he found peace when he remembered how you bluntly stated you were  _ 'soulmates'. _ There was no malice behind that statement and he knew you were the type of person to say what you felt about things and never sugar-coating it.

The bell rang signaling the departure of the two of you but sooner or later lunch will bring the two of you back. It's almost as if fate made the two of you magnets, it made you recall the whole soulmate concept you talked to Nathaniel about. Fate was very fickle, but it looked like Adrien and you were practically glued to each other ever since you warmed up to him. Sitting in your usual table with him Chloe huffed as she sat down in between the two of you.

"Adrien are you and Y/N dating?" Chloe asked ignoring your presence as Sabrina scoots next to her. You gave Sabrina a little wave and listened to her complain.

"We're good friends." You commented and Chloe looked at you in disbelief.

"Y/N, Adrien you guys can tell me anything I won't get mad."

"Y/N is saying the truth we're  _ really _ good friends and she helps me escape from home, that's why we're often together." Adrien responded though he knew being friends with you was good it also felt like it wasn't the word he was looking for.

"You're welcome to join us, the both of you are, I don't mind." You added causing Chloe to smile when you showed to be no threat between her and Adrien. "Plus you should really audition for the role of Ladybug for that new music video, you fit the role."

"Of course I will! Y/N you do have an eye for talent so now your on my official friend list." Chloe boasted as you smiled at the sudden gesture. A friend of Adrien meant another friend of you, plus Chloe was more than just the mean girl she had other amazing qualities behind closed doors.

The two girls bid you two farewell when she saw the rest of your classmates make their way to the table. Maybe you should sit with them some other time when you get the opportunity. It could prove useful to know what people like doing for fun.

"Rose told me you accepted to join the bad!" Alix cheered at the news, it surprised you how quickly word gets out but that didn't bother you much. Nathaniel followed behind her as he sat near the space Chloe and Sabrina had once been.

"Oh did your parents give you permission?" Adrien asked.

"Yeah, they said as long as it doesn't interfere with my studies it should be okay. I didn't want to join because I didn't know how long we were going to stay, but it seems like its a definite move."

The table soon filled up with the bandmates as they gave you the rundown of what your role meant to the band. It wasn't a big deal, you'd had your gigs here and there in school festivals so it wasn't anything new. The rehearsals seemed laxer to the ones you were used to, concertos often demanded time but your current bandmates seemed in it for the ride.

"I'm not missing your first concert when you debut." Adrien exclaimed causing Alix to laugh.

"Sorry, Adrien but Nathaniel and I are already founders of the Y/N Fanclub!" Alix stated, causing you to almost choke on the food.

"You might want to tone the Fanclub down before Y/N doesn't make it to her first rehearsal." Luka joked. "Speaking of rehearsal we have one later today, you're welcome to stop by if you can."

"I can stop by, we don't have tutoring today since Adrien has a video to record later." You were invited to join him to the shoot so you decided to go later after rehearsal, plus his father wanted to speak with you about tutoring and other things.

"Wow, you sound like his girlfriend..." Alix commented it caused many to shift at the sudden realization it sure sounded like that. You, on the other hand, blinked at the sudden pregnant pause of the group.

"Well, I guess I'm lucky to have a fake girlfriend like Y/N!" Adrien chuckled to disperse the rather weird air around the table, making you twirl your hair bashfully.

"Our fake relationship sure is the highlight of my week so far, does that mean I can borrow your video games or is that too quick?"

"Maybe too quick..." Adrien joked.

Lunch preceded as normal as usual with the usual jokes Alix pulled and you tried to one-up. Who knew being part of a band would bring you this much fun.


	19. Proposals

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How's quarantine for everyone?

"It's a nice keyboard..." It was the same Luka had let Adrien borrow during the festival. The sound was good but something was missing.  "It's so weird playing an electric one, I prefer acoustic but I can make it work."

"Then let's start from the top!" Rose squealed causing to smile at her enthusiasm. 

Looking over the music sheet you pressed a few keys before giving them the thumbs up.

Harmonizing with the band looked difficult at first but you soon found your rhythm with them the more you played. At times your head bopped as you hummed the song but you tried not to overpower the others.

A break was called after a few hours, looking at your watch you still had some time before meeting up for the photoshoot. You decided to play some small tunes on the keyboard, mostly classical since that eased your nerves.

"Do you like living in Paris so far?" Luka asked as he sat next to you and offered you a can of soda.

"It's picturesque and it has a lot of museums which are super cool!" Taking a sip you checked your mental list to see if there were some museums you wanted to visit with your family.

"Have any places you like so far?"

"Andre's ice-cream cart, best ice-cream in the world but he keeps his secrets very close..." 

"If you want we could stop by there another day, I'll treat you as thanks for helping the band."

"How can I say no to free ice cream?" A soft smile graced your face making Luka do a double-take. "Is there something wrong?"

"You look pretty when you smile..." Luka bluntly stated making you stare at him in confusion. "It's just that I rarely see you smile, you look so listless most of the time."

"Takes a lot to make me smile..." Sipping on your soda you still felt his gaze, there was a feeling behind it you couldn't put your finger on. Your thoughts were interrupted by the vibration on your phone, it was the alarm you set for the meetup. "Looks like I have to go, I have other errands to run."

"I can accompany you if you'd like, rehearsal is over for now." Luka commented as you shifted around getting your bag.

"No need, I'm going to see Mr. Agreste so I shouldn't bring people to anger him." Giving the bandmates a small wave you headed out to find Nathalie waiting for you near the car.

"Greetings, Ms. L/n." 

"Hello, Ms. Sancoeur." You replied as she held the door open, once in she seated next to you and pulled a tablet.

"Mr. Agreste, I have Ms. L/n here with me..." 

"Good, turn me to face her." Upon his request you came face to face with Mr. Agreste from what looked was his office. "Ms. L/n I have grown an interest in your influence over Adrien, unlike his so-called 'friends' you're the first I can say is a good option."

"Thank you, Mr. Agreste, it means a lot that you find your son's friendship with me as a good influence."

"Not to mention you also keep him focused, I saw the small video he uploaded in his social media page with you. Therefore I ask for you to be Adrien's companion he will never find a better candidate than you. Not to mention that your family is one of the most prestigious around the world, the L/n family has cultivated many great people." Mr. Agreste spoke the last sentence with such determination that caused you to blush at the outlandish request.

"Sir I value how highly you think of my family and me, but if we do develop a companionship I fear it will interfere in his career..." It was the quickest thing you could think of, maybe he'll take the bait and not be in the middle of his plans.

"This is precisely why you'll make a great companion for Adrien, thinking far ahead about his goals means you have the best interests in mind."

"Yes, Sir... Though I believe Adrien wouldn't be that fond of me as more than a friend." defeated you gave him a small smile, sure it wasn't a bad idea and it gave you alibis when the time came. Not to mention the worst that could happen was Adrien falling for you and you with him. Though you had to hand it to Mr. Agreste for thinking up such a plan, maybe getting close to Adrien will help you think more pragmatically like his father. "I do have one problem with this, what will my family think of this?"

"I shall speak this matter with them as well, for now, you have my full support and help. I'll speak to Adrien about this possible relationship as coworkers. Good-bye." The video call ended leaving you with the lingering feeling of how your parents might react to this. 

The rest of the ride was filled with silence as Nathalie fiddled with her tablet, soon enough your attention was caught as you stationed outside the Agreste mansion. Without a word, Nathalie exits the car and in her spot, Adrien scoots in offering you a warm smile.

"Glad you'll be by my side, hopefully, you don't get too bored." Adrien said as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Hmm... there's going to be models so it won't be boring. Plus nothing is boring by your side."

The indirect compliment you shot at Adrien caused him to blush a bit. As he turned his gaze towards your figure as you lazily looked out the car window. 

The sun settled in your face as you slowly basked in it without much thought, at this moment Adrien swore you were fairy who graced him with your presence. Without thinking he quickly snapped a picture of you with his phone, part of him felt he intruded in your personal space but the other side of him didn't want to pass out this moment.

"Looks like we're here." Your voice broke him out of his reverie.

Following Adrien around the building didn't feel like something out of the world, the models looked tired or too overworked. Maybe next time you should bring some snacks to offer the models.

"Please change into these clothes..." The assistant spoke to Adrien as you looked around the dressing room.

"I'll be outside..." You stepped outside with the assistant as she waited for your friend.

"I never have seen Adrien with someone who wasn't his father or his secretary. Are the two of you going out?" She asked.

"I'm just a friend, he's a nice guy."

"That's a shame, the two of you would make a cute couple." 

You and the assistant continued to chat unbeknownst that Plagg was eavesdropping on the whole conversation.

"Everyone really does think you and Y/n are a couple!" He said teasingly to Adrien.

"Y/n doesn't like me, plus she's out of my league..." Adrien's eyes jumped out at the sudden slip of information.

"Seems like someone has a crush on Y/n, you're finally moving from Ladybug."

Trying to get away from Plagg, Adrien quickly walked out of the dressing room interrupting you and the lady.

"Great please follow me." The assistant said as she escorted the two of you to the photo room

Getting a closer look you were amazed at the small details that went into the replica of Chat Noir's costume. It seemed that Adrien was fit to pick the role since he checked all of the physical qualities. 

"Ms. L/Nnjoin me, you will be helping me find a Ladybug for the music video." Mr. Agreste said motioning you to sit next to him. Giving a pat on the back to Adrien you went to take a seat to look at the possible candidates.

"Oh!" Your head had a eureka moment when you put two and two together. Looking around you couldn't find anything out of the ordinary, shame this would be a good opportunity to get some theories on who the real Ladybug could be.

"Seems something has caught your interest, what is it Ms. L/N?" Mr. Agreste noted your eye moments as you scanned the guests.

"This is a good moment to find out the real identities of these superheroes."

"Observant as ever, maybe you'll see Hawkmoth in action."

"Who's Hawkmoth?"

"The person behind the akumatizations, I'm sure you have seen the characters that cause trouble daily."

"So there is a mastermind behind those incidents..."

"I overheard from my son that you're not particularly fond of superheroes."

"Yeah, what's the point on being nice for everyone if they fail to help themselves. If Hawkmoth has a reason to make akumas then it's only fair for them to succeed at some point. So far no one is dead and it's only an inconvenience when these akumas attack. I bet everything would be over pretty easily if they just listen to Hawkmoth and make a bargain."

"Ms. Y/n L/n, I have a feeling we shall get along even better than before. The offer still stands, your prestigious family name could become a great ally to the Agreste family. Your family has helped mine in the past, therefore I ask that the newer generation will also help."

The Agreste family had indeed relied on your previous predecessors when it came to heists and fences. There was little most people knew and that extended to other families when it came to the nature of the L/n title. If Mr. Agreste ever did contact someone from the family it may just be as the middle-man and never face-to-face, unless it meant for day-time jobs.

"If I may ask, how do you know my family?"

"Your uncle who works in the textile industry is my main producer for all of my textiles. Then we have your parents who help me talk to other collaborators who speak a different language. Though in reality, it's thanks to your mother. M/n is a childhood friend"

"Uncle sure knows how to run a business, his textiles are always top-notch. Mom never speaks about her childhood, it's nice to know about it."

The two of you turned your attention when Clara Nightingale asked Marinette to play the lead role if you squint hard enough it did seem that Marienette could be Ladybug. But you also didn't know how they got their superhero persona and if it's altered someway. Maybe if you asked one of your cousins they could easily get a program to recognize faces. 

In the end, Marinette decided to become extra to stand with her friends.

"That's noble of her..." You said in between yawns. "She looks like a Ladybug I'll give her that."

Just when you were about to snooze Chloe dropped in dressed as Ladybug, wig and mask included. Still, she didn't make the cut and left very angrily. You let out a disappointed sigh, though she lacks the charisma of Ladybug it is nice for her to live up to the image of her favorite heroine.

"Maybe I should hire you for the role of Ladybug Ms. L/n. We can use this as an excuse to get you into the modeling career." Mr. Agreste commented causing you to laugh a bit.

"If that's your wish consider it done, though maybe Chloe has something up her sleeve. She never settles for less, I bet my left arm that she'll do something about it. But it seems Marinette has stepped up from being villager B." 

And true to your word the Mayor and Chloe step in to declare the filming of this video canceled. It was a shame since you really wanted to see Marinette and Adrien wear those masks to see if they resembled the action duo. Clara, on the other hand, is heartbroken at the sudden news.

"Well, I'm going to lay low for some time, don't want to be in the middle of this mess when Clara goes evil. Thanks for letting me tag along Mr. Agreste, be careful on your way home."

Giving Mr. Agreste a respectful bow you skip along to the entrance to call the nearest taxi. Your home was too far away and the Liberty was closer, plus Luka didn't mind your presence and indulging him a bit won't cause trouble. It was time for a little payback, this time you wanted to push his buttons to see how far you can get. Giving the taxi driver the closest address you kicked back and relaxed.

_ "Could you make a program that works with my mask to analyze the physical features of people?"  _ You text your cousin using your personal phone, not a second later does she respond.

_ "Only if you can plan out my next heist, you're better at these things :/" _

_ "No problem, send me the information and I'll send you the code." _

"Miss this is your stop!" The taxi driver cheerily says and you step out with thanks towards the man.

Humming a tune you step onto the Liberty to find no one on the top deck. You check the lower deck to find Luka quietly listening to his recording in his room. At this, an idea pops in your mind to scare him, the chaos of the outside world always brought your mischievous nature to the forefront. Slowly tip-toeing towards him you cover his eyes as he jumps a bit at the sudden contact. He takes one earbud out and put his hands over yours as to search for an answer.

"Who's there?"

"A stranger."

"A Stranger?" Luka is taken back by the sudden sound of your voice, a few seconds later a smile adorns his face. "Y/n is that really you?"

"In the flesh," you take your hands off his eyes but Luka quickly turns in his seat to hold them so you won't let go completely. "Decided to sneak in since no one was here."

"You're never a stranger to me Y/n, and I don't mind you sneaking in if its to visit me."

"That's pretty bold from someone who jumped when I covered their eyes, still mind if I crash here? The video shoot got canceled and I don't want to deal with superheroes or villains." You respond as you plop on his bed leisurely.

"Did you really just leave your fake boyfriend alone to visit me?"

"I forgot Adrien!" You spring up, grabbing your phone to call him. No answer so you settle with texting him to stay safe. "Hopefully, Adrien is with his father and nothing bad happens. I can't believe I abandoned my boy!" you flump back letting your phone bounce on Luka's bed.

"Y'know I'm getting awfully jealous of Adrien, but then again you're at my room instead of being with him. Maybe I can be your fake boyfriend?"

You give him a grunt in response and hide your face on his pillow. Your phone vibrates with a message from Adrien assuring that he's safe and wondering if you're in trouble. You quickly text saying you're fine, you let a content sigh and hug the pillow close.

"Now that he's safe mind if I steal your attention for a minute?" Luka asks as he brushes some stray hairs from your face.

"Nah, I'll just nap for now the river is lulling me to sleep." You playfully slap his hand away and hide under his covers.

"What if I told you I had some ice cream hidden in the fridge that has your name?" He teases looking at your lump figure under the covers.

"You drive a hard bargain, I need to inspect the goods before granting your wish..." You say extending your hand.

A few minutes Luka placed a bowl of ice cream in your palm and you peek under the blanket and nod as you take a small taste. Using the blanket as a makeshift shawl you give your undivided attention to Luka.

"Great, I was wondering if you could sing this part. I'll provide the rhythm so no need to worry." You inspected the lyrics he gave you and hummed in approval.

"Le temps d’un souffle coupé

Par un soir tardif d’été

Les anges partirent avant

Et leurs visages tachés de blanc

Je crois qu’il est trop tard

Pour t’avouer que j’ai mal

À mon cœur mourant

Et mes souvenirs tachés de blanc..."

Your voice fits the song with Luka's current arrangement, unlike the original song it had a symphonic rock vibe with the chords Luka played. When you finished you gave the lyrics back to him and continued to eat the cold treat.

"You have a nice voice, maybe you should become a back-up vocalist for Rose."

"Always trying to put me somewhere aren't ya?" You point at him with your spoon. "I don't take kindly to being told where to go."

"Your teenage rebellion really does pop-up with people your age but not with adults." Luka teases you as you put another spoonful into your mouth.

"Are you saying that because I had to ask permission from my parents? You really don't know me that well, I do what I want when I want!" You proudly announce as you turn away from him.

The loud commotion from what you believed to be an akumatization made your ears ring with the loud sounds coming from the outside world. Wanting to know more, you jump to your feet to go up to the top deck. As you ran up you heard Luka yelling to come back down since it wasn't safe to be out in the open at the current time.

Finally making it up you look around to find the sound, only to find some people turned into stone. On the rooftop you find a black blob searching for something. Squinting your eyes a bit you could make out it was Chat Noir.

"Hey!" You yell waiving your hands catching the superhero's attention. In a few seconds, he was by your side giving you a playful smile.

"Does the little lady need something?" Chat playfully asks causing you to laugh. At the sound of your laughter, his ears perked up causing you to laugh more.

"Say cheese!" You quickly take his picture as Chat blinks in confusion. "Sorry, it's just that I'd like to know more about you." You ruffle his hair and hear him purr a little making your eyes sparkle at how cute he was being. If you had no self-restraint you'd nuzzle your cheek with his just to make him purr more.

"Y/n?" Luka's voice breaks you from your reverie. His face shifts from a worried friend to a jealous one. "You should let him go back to his partner. Its no secret Chat Noir is very fond of Ladybug, don't want to break them up do you?" Luka hoped that the nugget of information made you walk away from the superhero.

"That's a shame..." You give playful pout to Luka before turning to the superhero in front of you, "Stay safe pretty please?"

"O-of course anything for you. Y/n was it?" Chat stutters as he looks at your loving eyes. "Goodbye!" Chat quickly makes an exit and you wave at him.

"Hmm... maybe I like one superhero..." You thought out loud as you looked at the picture you took of Chat. 

"Great now I have another competitor for your attention..." Luka muttered as he watched you hum in amusement at the interaction.

"What was that?" You tilt your head to look at him and Luka just points at the ladybugs flying around to revert the damage. "Neato I can finally go home, thanks Luka I'll stop by some other time!" Without as much as blinking you turn your heels to walk out of the Liberty the same way, you let yourself in.

Luka stood there dumbfounded are you capriciously walked away leaving him to questioned if you were really there with him a second ago.

\-----------------------------------------------------------

Once Adrien got home he couldn't get his head out of the daze at the interaction he had a few hours before.

"Just ask Y/n out you're making me impatient!" Plagg groaned, he was tired of his pinning.

"I should text her that I got home!" Adrien remarked and grabbed his phone.

_ "Guess what? I took a picture of Chat Noir! Did you know he purrs if you play with his hair? It's super cute :0"  _ Adrien imagined your sparkling eyes as he read it in your voice.

_ "Is my fake girlfriend really crushing on someone else? ;(" _

_ "Geez, you sound like Luka... but black cats really are my lucky charm." _

_ "You're very playful today? Did you get hit with an akuma?" _

_ "Nah, maybe I'm just a bit too happy about petting Chat Noir. Gtg see you later!" _

Adrien smiled as he switched to his camera roll to see the picture he took of you earlier today. Just as he was going to relax he heard a knock on his door, opening it his father walks in.

"I had a nice chat with Y/n today, not only is she very polite but she also amuses me with her intellect." Mr. Agreste asserted his high opinion of you to his son who started to worry about his ulterior motive. "What do you think of her? I suppose you like her seeing as how she indulges your whims of hanging out with your 'friends'..." 

Adrien was silent, how could his father have known where he was when he was with you? Noticing his son's expression a smirk adorned Mr. Agreste's face.

"Y/n is was smart enough to speak to me about these matters. She believed if she indulged you it will help your piano skills. Though I protested at first she seemed to go on her merry way. Her mother told me of her exuberant personality and how nothing seemed to stop her..."

"I... I like Y/n..." Adrien announced boldly but still scared at the possibility of his father prohibiting him from seeing you.

"Good this makes it easier, Y/n shall become your girlfriend if you play your cards accordingly. I trust her judgment and I wish that this relationship helps make more allies within her family." With that, Mr. Agreste left the room as Adrien stood there confused and giddy. For once he approved of someone Adrien was fond of and he was happy that it had been you out of all people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Want to give feedback? Send it this way--> https://forms.gle/gvsCiWcfD2j13s9M7


	20. New Friendships

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Currently fighting writer's block for an essay I have to write...

You lazed on the swing sofa outside your balcony as you looked up at the sky. Closing your eyes you took the violin next to you and played a small tune.

"And love itself is just as innocent as roses in May

I know nothing can drive it away

Though love itself is just as brief as a candle in the wind

And it's greedy just like sin..." You sang as you fiddled with the violin.

Feeling a presence you opened your eyes to find something hanging at the balcony's edge, green eyes staring back at you.

"Here to bring me some good luck? Black cats seem to be my lucky charm." You jested and Chat took a seat next to you.

"What were you singing just now?" Chat asked as he leaned closer.

"A Love Suicide, it a cheery tune for me that is." You set the violin down and prop your chin on your palm as you stared at his green orbs. "What brings you around?"

"Patrolling the city is something we superheroes do. But someone's voice caught my attention and here we are."

"Oh, dear am I distracting you?" You gasped dramatically earning a chuckle from Chat. "Well, you're welcomed to stay here as long as you want.. unless you need to get going to your girlfriend." You yawn looking back at your new acquaintance. 

"Ladybug isn't my girlfriend as much as the media likes to spin that lie."

"Hmm... the media does what it wants."

"Would it be selfish to ask for you to keep singing?"

"Your wish is my command!" You cheerfully responded and continued the little tune. 

To your surprise by the end of the song Chat Noir fell asleep next to the armrest. Grabbing the closest pillow and blanket you made a makeshift bed for him to lay down in the swing sofa. Closing the outer windows you made sure the night air wouldn't get him sick, even if it wasn't possible in his current form.

"Goodnight moon, good night Chat." You stepped into your own bed and fell in restful sleep.

\-------------------------------------------------------------  
"We have a job for you." Your mother commented as you drowsily ate breakfast. Turning your gaze you stretched your hand for the document.

"They want me to bring Fang back to Jagged Stone? Is that what he calls his guitar?" 

"No, Fang is a crocodile, and we're on a hunt for this scaly friend. Someone has him hidden in a zoo that works as a market to sell animals as exotic pets or to the fashion industry. This brings us to another problem, stealing all the money and returning these animals to their natural home though some are going to be kept in zoos for their safety."

"Fang himself brings money, the second part will be even more fun! I should sneak into Jagged Stone's room to make sure he knows where the money should go."

"Can you get me an autograph?" Your father yelled from the living room, to which your mother sighed.

"Make that two..." Your mom bashfully asked.  
\------------------------------------------------------------

"I'm surprised there's no security..." You jump to the roof of Le Grand Paris. "Also Miss please don't hit people with sticks." You raise your hand to grab Chloe's makeshift weapon.

"Y-you're here to kidnap me aren't you, I'll tell Daddy about this!" Chloe protests as she tries to shake the stick out of your grasp.

"Worry not, I don't kidnap people unless I have a reason." At this Chloe started to panic, causing you to laugh at her distress. "I'm kidding, but may I ask were Jagged Stone's room is?"

"For a thief, you're really bad at this." Chloe teased.

"Only when there's someone as amazing as you Miss." With a flick of your wrist, you produced earrings to persuade Chloe to help you. At first glance, they look to be real, but they're really just plastic fakes, either way, she takes the bait.

"Just because you ask nicely!" Chloe quickly took your gift and gave you directions.

"Thank you lovely lady, please don't tell anyone for my sake?" With a short bow, you play the role of letting Chloe feel in charge of your fate. She pretends to think as she hides her blushing face from your current actions.

"Well, I guess I can let you leave..."

Holding her hand you place a soft kiss causing her to gasp. Walking towards the edge you allow your body to fall from to roof, at this Chloe rushes to find you only to see that no trace of your existence.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------

  
It wasn't until at night that you decided to talk to Jagged Stone, you hoped to find him with his assistance only to be laying tragically near the items of his pet.

"Mr. Stone?" Your voice was soft through the voice filter as to not alert the man. Yet he did not even move to look at you, carefully you walk towards the man who longed for his close friend. "I promise to get Fang back, he's fine but this is where you'll find him on Sunday." 

You slip the little note to the man who eagerly took it and read it. Though it was for a slight moment he was happy to know Fang will be in his arms once the weekend hits.

"I just need you to open that door signaled there in the note, then I'll push Fang in a crate, don't worry its animal safe and he won't get scared."

"You got a deal! Thank you, but let me know your name?"

"Magpie, and here's another note. This one is for the media and police in case they try to interrogate you, call it a get out of jail card if you will." 

Making the calling card appearing from thin air you handed it to Jagged Stone and he eagerly took it. Amazed at how the fine card was glowing under the light with beautiful calligraphy. Jagged Stone was too engrossed in the card that he forgot about your presence in the room before he could say anything he found himself alone in the room once more.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------------

  
"Y/n!" Luka yells from across the street. Though he saw that you didn't react, that was until the wind blew through your hair showing that you had earbuds in. He quickly jogged to your side hoping to startle you, only to be meet with you jabbing his side. "Ow!" He yelped.

"It was a light tap, though you are a bit skinny so it must hurt." You commented and continued to walk.

"Hey," Luka grabbed your hand and stopped you. "did you hear that Fang is missing?"

"Who?" Your nose scrunched up in confusion and Luka had to resist the urge to bop it.

"Jagged Stone's pet alligator."

"Eh?"

"Please tell me you're pulling my leg..."

"The only alligator I know is Alligatoah." You pulled him with you seeing how he was stubborn enough to not let you go. 

"I really need you to show you more contemporary music, all you know is Schubert and Bizet." Luka teased as he pulled you closer to his side, never once breaking his hold on you that shifted to holding your hand. To him, it seemed that his hand was perfectly made to fit with yours, like a puzzle finding its counterpart.

"You need to know the ancients before knowing their disciples. Plus I listen to other music like symphonic metal to dream pop." 

You pulled Luka inside Tom and Sabine's bakery, looking over the pastries you were transfixed on how they resembled food out of a fairytale.

"Y/n!" Mr. Dupain greeted you, "Out of bread already?"

"Y'know dad, he basically inhales all the bread that I'm starting to hide my own treats away from him." You joke and Tom laughs.

"Your father always had a way with food, I'm surprised he never gains weight when he eats three times the normal serving. Oh is this your boyfriend?" He gestures to the hand-holding.

"I'm babysitting, Luka you should pick something too." You motioned the boy next to you.

"Babysitting? Don't worry Y/n your secret's safe with me!"

Before you could protest Luka pulled you to his side and held you close.

"Y/n gets lost in the crowds easily, I'm just making sure she doesn't get lost." Luka jests.

"You two are dating?" Marinette asks joy was evident in her voice and face as you turned to look at her.

"No/Yes!" Both you and Luka say accordingly.

"No." You jab Luka once more and run next to Marinette. "Marinette we need to finish the project, we should go to your room."

"Y-yes the project!" Marinette takes this chance and leads you to her room. Waving good-bye to her father and to Luka.

"Ah! She pulled the same stunt her father used to when he was younger. It looks like she's not interested in you my friend." Tom patted Luka's back in an attempt to comfort him.

"She's always so close yet so far from my grasp." 

"Start out as friends, and don't push too hard. Y/n may act like her mother on the outside but she's much like her father on the inside. Take her to a coffee shop and start there."

"Thank you!" Luka said as he pulled out his phone to find a shop that you might like. On closer thought, he decided to ask his sister for more help as he phoned her while he walked out of the bakery.  
\----------------------------------------------

  
"Thanks for that, looks like I owe you two now..." You sighed as you cracked your neck, letting all of your worries out.

"Y/n since you said you owe me one... do you think we could become friends?" Marinette asked shyly, it made your heart skip a beat.

"Someone as sweet as you asking me to be their friend, I guess I died while crossing the street..." You thought to your self out loud, Marinette quickly ran to your side assuring you that you were indeed alive and well. "Kidding, but that's very sweet of you but yeah we can be friends."

"Luka really likes you, even Juleka is annoyed on how much he asks for you. He even tried to convince Alix to take him to your house and Alix refused to say. She said that she's not going to do you dirty!"

"Alix really looks out for me. God, I just wish I could hang out with Nathaniel and her like we used to, but I have to do piano lessons and deal with a band."

"Why not give Luka a chance?"

"I feel like we're too alike and it won't give a variety of experiences. Maybe I just want someone different from me. Though I don't mind as long as we have a deep bond." You stare nostalgically to the window at your side.

Marinette felt sad, though this is the first time you utter more than just thanks to her it wasn't what she expected. Before Marinette could give you words of encouragement she saw you how your eyes stared around the room, almost as if searching for answers.

"Y/n?"

"Do you have a pet bird?"

Your question confused her to no end until she caught a glimpse of Tikki trying to hide in the fabrics laying around.

"N-no it must be a-a rat!" Marinette yelled pointing next to you. Your gazed followed her finger, but you found nothing of the sort.

"Or an insect. Well, I'm heading out. Be careful of the vermin, they tend to munch of fabric." You skipped down the stairs as Marinette was left speechless.

She poked her head through the window as she saw you leave with boxes full of pastries.

"Y/n is very observant, I was trying to be careful and not move but she still heard me!" Tikki said in awe. "But it's still a bit sad how she doesn't like to be in groups for that long."

"Yeah..."  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Want to give feedback? Send it this way--> https://forms.gle/gvsCiWcfD2j13s9M7
> 
> If you have a tumblr then you can also send messages to me, by tumblr should be somewhere around my profile, see ya.


	21. Carper: Scaly Friend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive but at the cost of online classes ;-;. Thanks for people who send in comments via the pool and here as well. Enjoy the chapter!

"I was surprised you called me and Alix, she said she couldn't make it and told me to keep you company instead." Nathaniel bashfully told you as he took a seat in your room. "You're always with someone if you're ever alone Luka or Adrien are close the moment they spot you alone."

"Luka is always trying to make me listen to the music he likes, not my cup of tea. Adrien, on the other hand, needs someone who can give him a breather from his father. " You lay your head in his lap at you close your eyes.

"Nathaniel, you smell nice it's very comforting."

"Wh-what? It's umm... those bath soaps you gifted me."

"They suit you." You let a pleasing hum, to which Nathaniel swore you were toying with him at this point.

"Y-you also smell nice Y/n."

"Thanks, it was a gift. Are you okay? You feel stiff." You lift yourself to gaze into Nathaniel's eyes.

"Sorry, it just feels weird being back together like this after all this time."

"We should go on another date sometime..."

"Would you like to go to the movies? There might be some movies you might like."

"It's a date then, how does tomorrow sound? Around the evening."

"I'd love that."

You resume your peaceful spot on Nathaniel's lap as you asked what he's been up to the past days. Between jokes and chatting, time flew away.  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"Thank god for this mask filters odors, this is a really shitty place." You murmured to yourself as you navigated the lower levels of the zoo. Though it looked clean on the outside the living conditions of the 'cargo' were not as pretty.

Finally making it to the checkpoint you unscrew the vent carefully as to not startle the animals. It broke your hearts seeing them in small cages. Working quickly you put your gadgets in each lock, once the escape route was secured it will melt the metal and you had to make your escape. 

"Magpie to Dove, animals secured but no sign of Fang."

"Fang appears to be on the export files, animal control is ready as well as other forces.

"You get to drive the car chickadee!" Milvago interrupted.

"Finally my years of video game practice will come in handy."

Making it to the export you waited for the signal on your wristwatch. Today you posted an anonymous message to animal activists about the zoo, the uproar would cause all available hands to be busy with them you'd make a run with Fang on the moving truck. 

Just in time, the signal was received and you hid among the boxes as the workers were called to the upper floors. Quickly putting the same gadgets you spotted Fang who was too sad to move. You tapped on your watch to change your voice to that of his owner.

"Fang?" The little alligator perked up and gave you a confused look. "It's okay little guy, we're getting you to your papa." You open the cage and he quickly jumps at you, if anything he acted more like a puppy than an alligator. "Alright in you go, wait here." You signal him and he obliges.

Hacking into the alarms you deactivate it to let you escape through the cargo area. Everything was going smoothly which was perfect since the next part was going to be the most troublesome.

Going back to the storage you pulled out the big T-bone and held it up high, the animals began to stir as they saw the first meal of their long stay. 

"Follow me!" You cheerily declared as the metals melted making you run as quickly as you could. The animals in their ravenous state quickly made it a goal to hunt you down.

Finally getting to the cargo bay you spotted a wagging Fang waiting for you in the passenger seat.

"Off we go little guy!" You handed the steak to him as you turned the truck on and ran with the animals following you.

"We did it!" You petted Fang who gave a happy grunt. Though a strange noise made you shift to look to the glove compartment of the box. "Huh?" You open it only to pull out a ferret?

"Who are you?" Your question, the little animal only gestured to the road as you nearly crashed but was able to get away in time. "Thanks, little furball, your name is Chowder. Welcome to the team!" You put Chowder on your shoulder and he chirped happily.

"Mr. Stone? Yes, we're there in two minutes!" You call him through the mask and hang up once he confirms his location. Luckily the commotion of all the animals roaming around you could sneak in the hotel.

Slowly parking the car you spotted Jagged Stone who was jumping all over the place.

"Mr. Stone please stay in one spot, I can't park the car like this." You told him and he complied. Once the car was turned off, you opened the passenger side and let Fang out.

"Fang, my lovely friend you're back!" Jagged cheered as he embraced his pet.

"Case closed, keep safe!" You announced, Chowder chirped as he Layed his tiny head on your cheek.

"Wait, let's take a picture together! I need to show my fans who the real hero is."

"As long as I get an autograph."

"You'll get two signed records and a song dedicated to you!"

Jagged Stone lifted his phone and snapped various pictures with the four of you.

"Well time to help the other nerds with the animals, stay safe Fang and thank you." You gave the alligator pats on his head to which he gave you a big lick in gratitude.

As you climbed the roof of Le Grand Paris you surveyed the area, nothing but chaos as the superheroes were nowhere in sight. Chowder began to chirp as he hid inside your coat pockets.

"Enjoying your handiwork Magpie?" Ladybug's voice spoke behind you.

"Yeah, animals should be fr-"

"No way THE MAGPIE!" Someone's voice interrupted you as they closed in and stared at you in awe. Looking over the person you smiled at the new addition to the hero team.

"Cool suit, you're a fox so you must have something up your sleeve right?" You reach behind her ear and pull out the same calling card you gave Jagged Stone. "What's your name?"

"Rena Rogue! Is this for me?"

"Yup, consider it a welcome gift from me to you. If you ever get bored come join me." 

"No way a superhero will work with a villain!" Ladybug protested.

"Be is hero or villain we both do what we find to be justice in the end. Plus I need to put some animals away to a safer place." Pressing some buttons in your arm, the phones around you began to beep. "I'll deal with the monkeys, they'll follow me around."

You leap onto one of the elephants that managed to escape from the zoo and began to rally the monkeys in a tiny army with you.

"Amazing!" Both Chat and Rena saw in awe on how easily the animals followed your command.

Their attention soon turned to the large TV screens as the news report came in:

"Breaking news, I'm sure everyone saw the report sent to your phones from a mysterious number. As always the infamous Magpie resurfaced to tell us about the doings of criminals. This time the zoo that was liked by many for their humane treatment of animals has been shown as the source for animal exportation to many industries or to be sold as exotic pets. Jagged Stone is here with us to deliver his side of the story, as many remember his pet alligator was missing until today. Please share your story!" The reporter gave the mic to Jagged who told the camera on how you saved his precious pet and handed him a calling card. After his interview, the camera shifted to you running around with an army of monkeys who were safely handed to their caretakers. 

"Magpie! Give us an interview!" The reporters swarmed you only to be pushed away as the horses rushed to disperse the crowd.

"Some other time!" You yelled and disappeared among the stampede.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------  
"What a job well done..." You muttered inside the lair as you took of your suit. Chowder running to nuzzle your cheek. "You're pretty smart aren't you?"

As you sat down Chowder at the nearest surface you examined his body, small for a ferret but very smart. There were small indents on his body, they looked like scars and your eyes dropped.

"Did they experiment on you little guy?"

Chowder curled into a ball when he heard experiment, sadly you were right.

"It's okay, what did they do? Tried to train you to be a spy?"Your mother told you how animals can be easily trained but you never once believed it to be true. "Alright you're now Chowder during the day, and during the heist you're... Burrow." Chowder just ran jumped at the idea of being part of this union.

This was the start of a beautiful partnership.


	22. Bargaining Chip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hows the spacing between lines? I know some of us who have difficulty so I want to know if this is easy to read for those who have difficulty. I'm open to any suggestions.

"Sorry, I'm late!" You ran towards Nathaniel, panting as you reached to his side inside the cinema. "The animals were roaming around and they didn't want the passengers to get out."

"It's fine, did you get hurt?" Nathaniel crouched to your panting body.

"No, I'm okay." You tried to steady yourself only to sway, it seems like Nathaniel bought it and let you lean on him. "Let's go see the movie."

Nathaniel showed you to your seat, it was nice of him to buy the snacks. Though the cinema was a bit empty due to the chaos, it was good for you since you could comment during the movie. Nathaniel also found it good because he could get closer to you.

As the movie started Nathaniel tried to hold your hand, as he got closer he felt something smaller grab his.

"Wh-h?!" Nathaniel said in between a hushed whisper and Chowder swatted Nathaniel away. "Y/-" He got quiet once your furry friend relaxed on your shoulder.

"Hmm?" You turn to find Chowder eating some popcorn he stole from the confusion. "Nathaniel met Chowder, Chowder here dislikes strangers." You petted your pet.

"You give me constant heart attacks..." Nathaniel muttered and you giggled at his pouty expression.

  
\----------------------------------------------------------------------  
"And when found out it was a dream! I should've seen the signs!" You said excitingly waving the popcorn bag on the bus, causing Chowder to chirp angrily since he was peacefully eating on the leftover popcorn. "Sorry, but it was very intense."

"I knew you'd like it, there are more movies like that we could marathon..." Nathaniel told you as he smoothed over your hair.

"Yes!" You nodded eagerly. "Just beep me and I'll run to the cinema." The bus signaled your stop and you bid your farewell to your best friend. Making it up the stairs you skipped playfully and unlocked the door.

"I'm home!" You yell.

"In the living room!" Your mother yelled, skipping towards her you find other people sitting with your mother. "Y/n, Mr. Agreste and Adrien stopped by for dinner."

"Hello, sorry for yelling."

"No need to apologize Y/n, it's good to see you're in high spirits." Mr. Agreste commented.

"Ever since her cousin sent her Chowder she's been like this. Chowder come here." Your mother called and caused the furball to scurry to her side.

"An exotic animal, is it a minx or a ferret?" Mr. Agreste asked intrigued at the dark coat.

"A mix of those two, that's why he's tiny." You added.

"Well then, let's start dinner. Your father is out on business, he'll be late." Your mother told you to ask you went to wash up.

Quickly returning to set the table you found Chowder running off to the living room to his cushion. Maybe later you can let Adrien play with him. Dinner wasn't as lively as usual after pulling big heists. That soon changed as your father came home and took a seat at the table.

"Mr. Agreste is nice to see you again, you too Adrien!" Your father commented as he sat down in his usual spot. "Are we going to discuss business?"

"Yes, we decided to come by since Adrien missed Y/n a lot. And I wanted your permission for Y/n to become a model if she liked." Mr. Adreste stated and you felt like a deer in the headlights. "If Adrien and Y/n are the faces of the new fashion line then both families will benefit from this collaboration."

"That's very kind Mr. Agreste, but I don't want your company to suffer." You said meekly and your parents nodded.

"We can do a trial, it could work and if it doesn't then we end the deal and everything is back to normal." Mr. Agreste stated. "Y/n carries herself with elegance few people have and she will make a good model.."

"Mr. Agreste this is a matter that Y/n has to choose."

"As long as it doesn't harm our image... "

You extended your hand and Mr. Agreste shook it. Gabriel felt that he won the jackpot for a secure future if anything went wrong with his goals, but he still had to make sure you fall for Adrien. You, on the other hand, made it easier for your family to make more connections if the deal went your way, either way, there was nothing to lose and everything to gain.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------

"Y/n I'm sorry my father made you that proposition..." Adrien wished a sinkhole could swallow him at that moment, he didn't dare to look at you in the eye. How could he, once his father figured his crush on you he never let it go. Asking you to be a model for this new line was his father's way of getting him close to you.

"Actually I don't mind, but answer me this..." You tell him softly as you hand him a cup of tea as the two of you chatted in your room. "Does your father always use you as a bargaining chip?"

Adrien's mouth opened and closed, he couldn't find the right words to express everything he felt. You ease up and bundle his figure in a blanket to calm him down. Chowder soon following to nuzzle Adrien in an attempt to calm him down.

"You don't have to answer," You hugged him close, softly petting his hair. "it's alright I'll stay by your side until the end. When I made that deal I made it for life. This means that your problems are my problems, from now on I'm your companion."

"Thanks, Y/n."

You hummed a tune as you enjoyed the silence with Adrien, it felt natural to be caring for him. If anything you wanted Adrien to be happy even if that didn't include you in that picture in the future.  
\-----------------------------------------------------------------

The next day you found yourself lazing on the Lourve in the ancient civilization section as Alix's brother talked about the new findings. It was amusing how a simple heist allowed other museums to gather more information.

"Alright enough of that, let's go to my room Y/n!" Alix got up and took you with her. "So what's on your mind? Usually, you ask my nerd of a brother a lot of questions but this time you're quiet."

"I feel like my vibes are out of place..." You lazily told her.

"Is it that just your vibe problem or your new job promotion?"

"That too... a month ago I was just the new kid now I got scouted because my cousin and I betted on who would become the next face of Mr. Agreste's fashion line." It was a lie but one you could live with, all lies became easy after a while.

"Must be nice, to have things fall into place."

"Yeah but that's not the issue, there's someone I want to protect with my life."

"Woah! Y/n are you in love?" Alix turned her whole body towards your limp and dazed form.

"Who knows, not me..."

"Who's the lucky guy, or girl?"

"A friend, I just want to protect that person with all my might."

Before Alix could ask any more question she was cut off by the alarm of your phone.

"Looks like it's time to go, I'll see you at school." You gathered your stuff and skipped away from a very intrigued Alix.  
\-------------------------------------------------------

During practice, you couldn't help to play as the sheet said in hopes to drive out your many thoughts. At times you indulged Luka in light banter seeing how his flirting was more persistent than usual. There was no harm in indulging him in his flirting if anything pulling Luka's leg was your way of getting back on him.

"They look like a cute couple!" Rose squealed as her other bandmates nodded in response. "We should totally set them up shouldn't we?"

"As much as I like the idea of them being together aren't we jumping the gun?" Ivan asked.

"We're not, look its obvious Luka likes her. Juleka what do you think?"

"Luka does talk about her often, he even goes out of his way to talk to her more often... Remember how he tried to get Alix to spill the beans on where Y/n lived?" Juleka said thoughtfully, it'd be nice if his brother was with you.

"It's settled, next girl meet-up we're going to talk about it." Rose said eagerly as she texted the group-chat to set up a meeting. "Y/n teach me how to play this tune!"

In the end, the practice turned into a jam session trying different beats and chords.


	23. Interests

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Accidentally played too much Animal Crossing that I forgot to write, welp if you're still in quarantine I hope this new chapter brightens your day.

"A meeting?" Marinette said out loud as she looked at the chat. "Wonder why we're having one so quickly, maybe they decided to add Y/N after all." Marinette slumped down on her chair and rummaged through the new fashion magazines she bought earlier today to keep in the loop of the latest trends

"It looks like they're trying to find out who Y/n likes!" Tikki announced as she looked over the chat messages, Marinette nodded and flipped through the magazines.

"This season's colors are very nice, L/n is possing in this one, more neu-" Marinette blinked and yelled as she flipped back to the photo of a model with your last name.

"What's wrong? Isn't L/n the family name of Y/n? Everyone in that family is photogenic." Tikki noted and Marinette looked at the article. "The new heirs to the L/n throne, an old dynasty in the modern age."

The article consisted of how the newer generation of the L/n family are changing the way they run their family business. It amazed Marinette at L/n was basically a household name, all the sectors were filled with different companies made from your family under a conglomerate. Now the older generation passed the torch to the four new faces, yours included.

"Who knew Y/n belonged to such a prestigious family, it even rivals that of the Agreste name." Marinette committed to Tiki who was also engrossed in the article. "Do I even know the real Y/n?"

\----------------------------------------------------------------

"Shouldn't we have Y/n here, since it's her love life were talking about?" Alix states finding it weird that her friend was missing. "Plus, not to be mean but why Luka? I propose Nathaniel as her partner!"

"Nathaniel and Y/n, that does have a cute ring to it..." Alya comments on the idea.

As the girls chatted Marinette could only think she was glad no one suggested Adrien.

"From what I heard, Adrien has a crush on Y/n..." Mylene spoke causing Marinette to whip her head fast.

"Y/n and Adrien?! Y/N sees Adrien as a brother who would say such a lie? Alix laughed at the possibility of that relationship. All this time she's heard how it felt like you were doting on him like a sibling. Her laughter soon ended when she recalled those words you said earlier today. "S-say, where did you heard that rumor?" Alix's voice broke at the sudden realization of the possibility that is was Adrien whom you were referring to when it came to protecting someone.

"Ivan overheard Nino talk to Adrien about it and Adrien said that Y/n would never like him like that. And added that Y/n looks at Nathaniel with adoring eyes."

"Nino I swear..." Alya commented as she facepalmed, there was a possibility of it being true seeing how much Adrien trusts Nino.

"What more proof do we need that Nathaniel and Y/n are endgame?" Alix motioned to the rumor. "Plus she can easily talk to him and they've gone on dates!"

"Didn't you say Y/n thinks dates are either a fruit or an outing?" Alya pointed it out. "Plus if Nino and Adrien talked about it that just makes it more clear that Adrien likes Y/n."

"Why not ask her to a sleepover, and then we can get her to spill the beans!" Rose said as she explained the idea. It would be easier for Y/n to confide if it's just girl talk, or so she hoped.

"We should do it here, Y/n is comfortable there since she spends a long time there." Juleka added. The girls agreed and Alix quickly made plans with the girl and promised to tell you tomorrow at school.  
  
\--------------------------------------------------------

Sitting on the bench as you watched students chat about their plans made you realize something, the life of a normal civilian was too mundane for someone of your upbringing. Usually, you shrugged it up but today it was clear at how different you were from the other pupils in the school.

"What type of person wears such outdated clothes?" You heard a few people whisper as they walked by you assuming you were actually listening to music behind the headphones you normally wore. Once they were out of sight you patted down your skirt as you thought of their comments, these were the clothes you usually wore when you were anywhere but at school, in short, these clothes represented you who cared little of their comments as you shrugged it off as teens being teens.

_'I sound like my cousin...'_ You chuckled to yourself recalling how many times he's told you about today's youth and their mannerisms.

  
"Here..." Luka held up a CD in front of your book. "You look nice, are you going to an event?" The clothes you were wearing were fitter for an opera house or a rehearsal, Luka always thought you looked elegant before but this one takes the cake. "You look great, I mean you always look great but..." Luka's eyes fell to your hands that took the CD from his.

"Umm... just some clothes I usually wear when I'm not at school, I haven't done any laundry so I settled with this." You inspect the CD and the songs in it. It contained various artists but none that you knew. "Thanks." You smiled at him and continued to read the book. "No one gives out CD's anymore, but it's a really nice gesture."

"Consider it as a then you gift for indulging me with extra music practice."

"I appreciate the thought, plus I like music so it's nice to help someone equally as passionate."

"Would you like to go to this library cafe with me sometime?" Luka shows you his phone but you didn't pay much mind to it, it was one of the many cafes you frequented.

"That'd be nice, I have less stuff to do now."

"Having lovers chat?" Alya winked at you as she sat and pushed Luka closer to your figure. It seemed she was planning something by the way she made her comment, interested in her plan you decided to play along.

"I'm just getting comfortable with my peers," You say as you twirl a strand of Luka's hair, "but I'm about to head out, not feeling this whole school thing today."

"Wait classes haven't ended!?" Luka exclaimed as he felt you shift and gather your belongings.

"I'm playing hooky!" You yell.

"Great, then let's call this our date!"

"If you can keep up." Luka joined your side and you rolled your eyes but was quick enough to notice how Alya typed erratically on her phone. Luka didn't waste a moment to keep up with your pace. Soon he found himself next to your figure as you looked at your phone. 

"Let's go to the library cafe you spoke about." You guided him through the maze of people as you held to his arm, mostly to avoid him dawdle in chitchat with people he may come across. Luka on the other hand was glad that this time you were the one to initiate contact, lately he's seen how much you prefer you holding to people on your own volition. 

After 30 minutes you finally made it to the cafe and took a seat and ordered a drink, the waiter nodded and asked Luka for his as well. 

"Just coffee is fine." Not a few minutes later did he receives his own drink as you do as well, and saw how you pulled your laptop.

"Y/n, dates have people speaking to each other."

"This isn't a date..." You retort after a sip of your drink, "You just happen to follow me and I made sure you didn't get lost."

"Oh." Luka tried to hide the sadness in his tone.

"Don't take it personally, I'm surprised you tagged along with me. This is a nice place but as you see," You signaled him to your laptop, "there are matters I must attend to."

"Are they that important that you had to skip school?"

"Yup, you see I'm looking up some conspiracies and I didn't want people to look at my screen." Another lie, you just didn't have the patience to sit down and listen to lectures you have already heard countless times.

"Mind if I take a look?"

You sighed as you turn your screen for Luka to see. As much as you wanted to work on a possible heist he didn't budge from your side. Looking at your phone you notice Luka's stare.

"Sup?" You say as you return you gaze back to your phone and looked through the messages from your classmates who were wondering where you were.

"Have you heard of the Ladyblog page? It has a lot of details even the first case Ladybug appeared in."

"You seem to forget I don't like superheroes." You take a sip of your coffee and Luka laughs at your comment.

"Yet you gush about Chat Noir and the last villain attack he was in." Luka retorted a bit too meanly as you raised an eyebrow at him. "It's not like its a lie."

"Chat Noir is his own category. He's funny and mysterious. Come to think about it, he deserves his own fan-page." There was something about him that just makes you feel giddy about seeing him, he reminds you a bit of Adrien once he let's loose. "Chat is making me rethink my stance on superheroes, do you think he has a special someone?"

"He has Ladybug, are you interested in him?" Luka closed in as he saw how you twirled your hair in thought. "God, you really like him of all people?"

"Sounds like someone is jealous they don't get to have Chat Noir close to them." You let out an airy sigh and saw how Luka pouted, it was cute but he also needed to be teased from time to time. Still, you couldn't help but to think in all those late-night talks with him have made you realize how nice it is to have another company with you. Aside from Adrien, Chat Noir is the other only person you never pushed away. It wasn't long until you felt water slowly rising in the small cafe, the splash of the water your feet made caused you to look down at the floor.

"Great..." You got up telling the waiter to put it in your tab. "Gotta blast!" You left quickly from the cafe. Luka tried to follow your running figure only to be met with more water and crowds of people seeking refuge.

  
\-------------------------------------------------------------

"Paris underwater sounds like a good pitch for an apocalypse film..." You hummed to yourself as you looked over the city. "I'm thinking of stealing the statue inside the Effiel Tower and mount it in the Arc de Triomphe." You looked at the panorama again and crossed out the Triomphe. "The Lourve? With the water level this high I can just move it and no one would see."

You looked at the best routes to move the statue, it looks like it can be done with the current time limit. Moving the statue took less time than what you expected, even the add-in details didn't take much trouble. Looking at your watch you saw it was almost time for Ladybug to do her thing. After waiting for the ladybugs appear you decided to look for the heroes instead since they never took this long to solve an issue.

Climbing the building you overlooked once again the disaster that was upon the city. It seems like the people of Paris knew the drill when it came to akumatized incidents, though you spotted someone having a difficult time getting to the roof.

"Need help?" You asked the old man, to your surprise it was Mr. Fu who had an assortment of items with him.

"Stay back!" He got into a defensive pose and you raised your hands in a sign of surrender.

"I'm helping you, Sir, let's get you to high ground. C'mon!" You vault Mr. Fu in your arms and grab the kit he held on to dearly. "There, not bad right?" 

"Thank you, you're the famous Magpie aren't you?" 

"In the flesh, I'd love to chat with you but it looks like you're busy doing some ritual... Either way not my problem but wear safety goggles!" Jumping to the nearest rooftop and gather your thoughts. Before jumping off to your direction you were stopped by a familiar black figure.

"It's been more than a week and you haven't shown up." Chat teased.

"Funny that is, because you haven't found the right spot kitten." You retort causing Chat to be perplexed. "I'm sure you'll figure it out soon enough, you're smart enough."

"At least you believe in me, Ladybug won't tell her secrets..."

"That sucks Chat, you should talk to your partner about it. Holding back this type of information can damage partnerships."You close the distance between you and Chat and pat his head, he began to purr which in turn made you have this huge grin under your mask. You put your hand under his chin and made him look at you.

"If you were my partner would you tell me your identity?"

"Of course I would, I trust you enough to be my partner in crime that means I trust you to know that nugget of information. Do you want to tell me what's on your mind?" You patted him to sit next to you and he complied.

"It all started when...." As Chat Noir told you the details he could spare you nodded and gave him some advice.

"I know this is against protocol but if you'd like we could meet with up without our mask but that requires something from your part." You scratched the back of your neck.

"What could that be?"

"I want to know the source of your power, unlike me, you have actual powers so that could make it an even deal since you'd know my identity. Not to mention that you can call on me for anything even when I'm a civilian."

"Just that?"

"It's no small potatoes but its a start, just think about it alright?" You shuffled through your pockets and took out an extra clay figure of a Magpie that you put on the statue. "Here, its an extra but I also added something inside, there's a clue on where to find me."

After saying your goodbyes you thought about the proposition you gave him.

"I need to consult this with my family..." You whispered as you went back home.


	24. Messing UP

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I updated the tags of this fic. Also if you want to request a small scenario please do so at my Tumblr, I'll post both the request here in AO3 and on Tumblr. Stay safe peeps!

"Skipping classes? I never expected that from you Y/n!" Alix exclaimed, earning a chuckle from you that only resulted in your friend to pry even more, "Alya said you skipped classes to go with Luka, very scandalous!"

Nathaniel started to regret coming over with Alix when he heard from Alix the possibility of you skipping school was something he never thought you'd do, much less with some guy but the icing on the cake was how Luka was the guy you skipped class with.

"As if, he tagged along when I decided to skip so I can relax."

"R-really?" Nathaniel said too quickly, you nodded happily a visible relaxation was evident in his body.

"Though that whole water thing ruined my day." You groaned.

"Speaking of water, did you see that someone put a replica of Gustave Eiffel?" Nathaniel showed you the pictures he took with Alix by the Lourve. "The weird thing is those birds perched on him, no one knows who did that."

"Maybe some wanted to make that fancy new art thing, but it looks a lot like the one from the Effiel Tower." Alix added.

"That's very cool of them, I didn't know that the Effiel Tower had a statue like that one." You tilt your head in confusion. "Can you send me the pics to my phone?" You told Nathaniel who nodded eagerly.

"Speaking of things the smart Y/n doesn't know, Juleka is having a sleepover today but she didn't get a chance to tell you. So she asked me to ask if you wanted to join." Alix turned her gaze at you.

"Yeah, my parents aren't home so there's no use staying here. I'm bringing Chowder with me, he doesn't like sleeping alone."

"Perfect, let me help you pack!"

\------------------------------------------------------------------

"Remember not to steal things okay Chowder? Act cute and dumb, it works for me so it should work for you too." You told your furry friend who chirped in agreement. "Oh, and I want a full report on all the things you hear."

Making your way up to the Liberty you found nothing out of the ordinary. Heading to the lower deck you were greeted by Luka who made his way to your side.

"Who's this little guy?" Luka asks as he reaches for Chowder, who only swats his hand once he comes a bit too close to his collar.

"This is Chowder, he doesn't like strangers. So please don't touch him or he'll bite."

"If he doesn't like strangers then how did he become your pet?"

"We had a fistfight outside the trashcan and I asserted dominance." You tell Luka offhandedly.

"Really? The graceful Y/n fought with this ferret and asserted dominance?" Luka asked bewildered at the possibility of you actually fighting the furry friend.

"Complimenting me won't help you, plus I thought this is was a girls-only sleepover. What are you doing here?" You cross your arms and look at him.

"I live here, plus I'm helping Juleka with snacks and stuff." He offers his hand to you, "May I escort you to the room?"

"No thanks, I can go myself." You tell him as you walk towards Juleka's room. Luckily the door was open, you walked in and closed it behind forgetting that Luka was behind you, sighing you open the door again and come in contact with Luka's chest.

"Sorry..." Luka said as you rub your nose and wave him off.

"Y/n you made it!" Rose announced.

"Thanks for having me, hope I'm not a bother." You say as you sit near Alix out of comfort.

"This is perfect timing, we're talking about..." The conversation started among you and the other girls. It was a different scene from what you were used to, it was too lively for your liking but you decided to suck it up and listen to the conversation going around you. Maybe you could gossip with Kagami once she got back from her training camp about this.

"How was your date Y/n?" Alya asked all eyes were on you now.

"You mean skipping school and Luka following me?" You yelled loud enough for Luka to hear on the other side, the girls nodded and you smirk a bit once you heard a shuffle from the hallway. "Pretty nice, took him to this cafe and tried to get some work done, it didn't happen."

"Aww..." All the girls disappointingly let out, you leaned back and smiled to yourself this would be a good time to pull their leg, but you should be nice. They only know one side of you and showing the other can cause problems.

"Y/n dates are supposed to be romantic, not just a hangout!" Alix said irritated.

"Yeah, how else would you spend time with someone you like?" Alya asked you.

"Just tell them I like them and that's it." You retort, making the girls groan. You were about to ask what's wrong with the answer until you got reminded about how you had a different upbringing and that your solutions often didn't come across as common sense.

"Okay that's it, we're going to tell you how to do it. I'll bring Luka down to help." Rose exclaimed and you sat up from your lazy spot, why would she need Luka?

Not a minute later was Luka in the room as the girls shifted to make an improvised set to help you. The only thing that separated Luka from you was a makeshift table.

"Okay act like this is a dating show, and we're going to ask questions," Alya added.

"But why would I be on a dating show?" You asked confused, earning a playful slap from Alix. "Okay, I'll play along." You take a seat by the makeshift table as Alya pulls out a piece of paper shielded by a love magazine. It was something the girls prepared beforehand but acted as they did it on the spot.

"Okay, first question," Alya pulled the magazine so only she could see. "What type of person you like?"

"Someone who doesn't pry." That only earned you another playful punch from Alix but you were able to dodge her attack this time around. "Fine, someone who is passionate and doesn't let others tell them what to do."

"Next one, ideal date?"

"Anywhere is fine." Alya's eyes made you sigh and you gave her another answer that will satisfy her, "A cafe."

"Okay here's a scenario. The guy you like has someone else, what do you do?"

"Confess my feelings and that's it, I can live with that."

"Okay another scenario, someone likes you but they're too scared to admit it. You overhear someone say that the person likes you what will you do?" Marinette said rather specifically and you raised a brow at her question.

"Flirt with them to tease them, maybe that'll help them confess." Your mind quickly recalled how Marinette was usually a goof when it came to Adrien being near her, was that more of a question on how she should approach him? You felt something in your tummy stir, maybe you were hungry?

"Okay, now that's out of the way. You're going to have a mock date, take it seriously." Alya told you and you nodded, there was nothing serious about this.

"So..." Luka said as he took Alya's cue.

"Hey, there lover boy..." You retorted lazily, your eyes didn't fail to capture how he tensed up after your comment.

"Y/n focus!" Alix yelled. "Okay so you're finally on a date, just play along. Pretend Luka is the guy you like and he likes you, what's the first thing you do?"

"Order the appetizer." You state.

"Y/n you're supposed to great him with a kiss on the cheek." Marinette interjects.

Scooting to Luka's side you place a soft kiss to his cheek and return to your normal place. If you could you'd tease Luka for the blush adorning his face, but there was more you wanted to do and did not like the ideas of being yelled at.

"Okay now let's say this is where he takes your hand," Mylene directs, Luka to hold your hand in his. "What do you tell him?"

"This is very inconvenient when the food comes."

Another collective groan is let out by the girls and Luka tries to stifle a laugh with his free hand. You take this time to intervene your fingers with his, causing him to blush harder. It's fun when the tables turn, well, in this case, it's when the table is on the other side.

"You girls are really trying hard." You say between laughs, you resume your previous position but this time you hold both of Lukas hands close to your face. "Sorry date but I just can't take this seriously. Find someone better than me okay?" You give his hands a small kiss as you resume your laughter.

The girls gave up and Luka excuses himself from the room. His heart was beating quickly from all your light touches, he swore you were just being mischievous but it only fueled his feelings for you. Once you calmed down you sat up and looked at the girls with a mischievous glint.

"If I didn't know better I'd think you guys are being Luka's wing women. That's very sweet!" You take a sip of the water as you looked at the nervous girls.

"Y/n wouldn't someone like Luka be your type? " Marinette asked, anything to get Adrien out of your line of sight.

"I think Chat Noir is more my type, tall, mysterious, and a dork." You sigh happily if you had met him in different circumstances you'd love to be his partner in crime, but after the heart-to-heart, it might be a possibility but you knew he was loyal to Ladybug.

"Thought you didn't like superheroes?" Alya asked.

"I don't, just saying he fits my ideal."

"What about Luka?" Rose asked.

"He's a perfect ideal."

"Well there's your answer, you should date him."

"I prefer to keep him at arm's length."

Unbeknownst to you, Luka overheard how you like seeing him blush. Truth be told he just wanted to look confident so he could have a chance with you, don't girls like confident guys? Then again you weren't like most girls, unlike Marienette you stood your ground and brush him away.

"Well if it gives you some peace of mind, Luka has only been like that to Marienette and you." Juleka added.

"No offense to Marienette but now that I know that I'm not the only girl he's done that to I won't set my eyes on him." You sat down and thought about another boy that showed the same symptoms. "It's not that I don't expect a handsome guy like him to have his own names under his belt, he's just not the kind of guy I can safely warm up to."

Ouch, that crushed Luka's heart. He knew Juleka was trying to help but it ended backfiring if anything it felt like he was returning to square one with what he heard.

"B-but Luka really likes you Y/n, he's always asking about you and he offers to take stuff to your house if any of us can't make it." Marinette explained and she flinched when your eyes landed on her, almost as if you were ready to snipe her at any moment.

"Does he now?" You close your eyes and think about the new information, someone like that is bound to be useful even if it is an alibi, still, he wasn't the type of guy who would understand why you did certain things in the long run. "A bit troublesome... better yet why don't you go with him Marinette? If he flirted with you it means he's interested right? That's what the norm for teens these days."

"H-he doesn't like me, he never once spent the time to impress me as he has done with you."

"You like Adrien no? That's the reason why you have candid pictures of him right?" In your opinion, you were stating facts but the bluenette girl didn't take it the same as you saw Marinette's wide-eyed reaction assured you that you hit the bullseye, all the girls stiffen at the change of character.

"She's very perspective..." Alya pointed out to Alix who was surprised at her friend's reaction.

"How about this," you sit back on the cushion near the makeshift date table the girls set up. "Let's put our cards on the table, it sounds like you're still not happy with me?" Your tone was of curiosity but it sounded condescending which was infuriating Marinette who sat on the other side of the table. 

"I am! I think you're hiding your true personality, no one can be perfect in many things! You're probably a compulsive liar like Lila!"

"No, I'm more of a compulsive gambler if anything." Seeing Marinette angry made your heart race, she was cute when she was angry but now's not the time for that.

"See there it is! You're teasing you think you're better than everyone else just because of your parents and your pedigree!"

"I'll have you know that I'm adopted." You pointed it out and the room fell silent.

"Y-y/n?" Alix's voice was so quiet as if she was afraid that you would spit venom on her next.

"I-I..." Marinette was at a loss of words, everything backfired and you ended up being the bigger person.

"Well then, this enough oversharing from my part. " You grabbed your bag and headed for the door, this time you were wary to bump into Luka who was spying from the other side of the door. "Excuse me." You say assertively and walked away wondering what went wrong in that exchange.

Making your way up to the deck of the Liberty you felt a presence, but you brushed it off as nothing important. That is until you were yanked back by Luka.

"The hell?" You said as you squirmed out of his grasp.

"That's an akuma, it was going for you and I thought..." Luka's eye widened when you crushed the black butterfly as if nothing.

"You guys are very wary of these little things." You open your palm to show that the akuma was no more and continued to walk to the mainland.

Luka shook off his amazement to run after you, he wanted to make things right even if you found him annoying for his constant prying.

"Y/n please, let's just talk." He was out of breath, were you always this of a speedy walker?

"What now?" You stop in your tracks and look back at him knowing he was going to follow you until he explained his side made you feel a headache bubble up.

"I'm sorry, it seems you got in trouble because of my fault."

"Were you the one who told them to set up a mock-date for us? Or do you happen to be the shy guy who's crushing on me and can't tell me?"

"Can you blame a guy who thinks the girl he likes is too perfect for him?" He tried to joke but upon seeing your walking form he started to panic. 

"Bold time to joke, just go home and give the girls my thanks for this whole mess. From now on I won't hide my true self, what you see from tonight forward is a Y/n who is no longer afraid of others and ready to take on anything."

Luka opened his mouth to respond but it fell on deaf ears when he saw you hail a taxi. Giving him a small peace sign the car drove away from the teen who felt he genuinely messed up.


	25. Enraptured

You found yourself that night with too much on your mind so you decided to get some fresh air. Going to the balcony with the makeshift gym in your house you decided to punch your anger away as you practiced some moves.

"Dammit!" You punch the bag once more and ended up breaking the chain. "Shit..."

"You okay there?" Chat comments as he pops up by your balcony. "You really did a number on that poor punching bag."

"Got tired of putting up a facade and decided to let the illusion end." You adjust your wrappings on your hands and notice Chat's curious stare. "Don't worry, you've known the real me all this time."

"So why did you decide to come clean?" Chat asked as you fixed the punching bag and landed a few hits.

"Got tired, I also dislike wearing a fake smile."

"But something must've ticked you off enough to do that much damage." Chat pointed at the dent you created through brute strength.

"I dislike people prying too much into my personal life as well as them not speaking their mind when it comes to me." Another kick landed on the bag causing it to break and sand to spill off.

"Yeah, I know the feeling."

"Speaking of feelings, what's the deal with those black butterflies? I destroyed one and it just became dust..."

"W-what?!" Chat nearly fell from the ledge when he heard you say it so easily.

"Careful Chat," You hold on to him as he regains his footing. "Yeah, you guys fight these things do you not? What's that about?" 

"Maybe you're just out of this world!" He commented as you let out a hearty chuckle. Chat looked at your face illuminated by the moonlight, it held a strange emotion he never saw on you during the day when he was Adrien. All that calmness you usually held in front of him was gone as he saw your anger at what transpired, he only seen it once at it was the time his father wanted to make a business deal with him as collateral.

"So you and Ladybug, what made you fall in love with her?" You asked bluntly and it took Chat Noir by surprise. "I used to think that falling in love made you vulnerable, but it's not the case anymore." You let out another groan as you felt a daze about thinking about the concept of love.

"I can't remember anymore," Chat Noir knitted his brows, Ladybug was no longer in his heart as of late, it was you who ran through his dreams and stole his breath away every day.

"Hmm..." You closed your eyes in fake thought, "sounds like you fell out of love, how does that feel like?"

"Falling in love or out of it?"

"If you could I'd like for both perspectives."

"Falling in love with this person, it's like..." Chat Noir blushed, he was embarrassed at the fact that his crush asking about the concept of love. "Umm, when I see them I get a need to see them smile and blush. And about falling out of love, there's nothing there since I was always being rejected by Ladybug."

"That truly sucks, maybe I should confess and get rejected then call it a day." You said out-loud and Chat laughed at your respond and you joined at his contagious laughter.

"Lucky guy, do I know him?" Chat teases hoping he could get the information out of you.

"Mum's the word."

"Common give me a hint" Chat smiled widely, he needed a hint even a small detail could help him to be wary of the people around you.

"They're kindhearted, there, I think that's good enough." You stretch as you return to the hallway. "Do you want anything to eat?"

"You can cook?"

"Of course, let's just hope we have the ingredients for whatever you please." You motion him to follow you through the house, Chat figured that patrol had to be set a little back for tonight.

・‥…━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━…‥・

"Still sounds a bit off..." You were in the music room of the school as you tuned the piano. 

"Y/n?" Luka's voice startled you causing you to cut yourself on the tunning strings.

"Hey, what brings you here?" You say nonchalantly as you search for a cloth to stop the bleeding, all that late-night talk with Chat the other day made you feel less bad about jeering Marinette at the sleepover. 

"I was worried when I didn't see you at lunch. Alix was also worried and she couldn't find you anywhere." Luka cringed at the amount of blood that was coming out of your hand. 

"Nothing to worry about, I was trying to play the piano here," You bandage yourself up making sure blood wasn't spilled on the piano. "Guess I'll grab lunch then, can't tune the piano this way."

"Y-yeah, let's go," Luka said quickly but you were already out of the room, his greatest fear came true you were now avoiding him and not hiding it at all. "YOu look different, I like your style it suits you." Luka thought back to the time he saw you in what he considered 'fancy' clothing.

"Thanks, I usually wore these clothes but when I came here I tried to fit the fashion here but it doesn't suit me."

"No wonder you're amazing," Luka said and you shrugged, "It's just that most people with your background aren't as humble."

"You reflect the environment, plus Adrien isn't stuck up and neither is Chloe."

"I might not agree with you on the ladder."

"That's the thing, appearances are all that matters to people these days, Chloe is more complex than you think." You point out, when she helped you out in the last heist you took it upon yourself to eavesdrop on her via the item you gifted her, you understood where her anger was coming from so you couldn't blame her.

Once in the lunchroom, you saw how the girls were all sitting together. You would no longer waiver with your ideals or your personality anymore it's time for you to do as you please without the fake smile. 

"Dudette what's wrong with your hand?" Nino asked concerned.

"Cut myself tunning the piano, they don't look that deep but I'll get a closer look at them later." You looked closely at your hand, the bleeding stopped but the cuts were wide. "Mind if I sit here?"

"You're always welcome to sit," Adrien said with a smile, he didn't miss how you also smiled gently at him. It was his turn to be there to support you and maybe you were more willing to talk about it with him now that his superhero self helped you calm down. "I heard there was a sleepover, did you have fun?"

"Don't remind me," You told him with a huff, you shook your head and looked back at your food. "Sorry, it wasn't that good. I left early because I forgot about something..."

"Oh, well maybe there'll be a better sleepover to come. If not then we can have one over video call"

"You always have a way to make me feel better." You smiled brightly on his suggestion.

"There's that smile!" Nino said and Adrien tried to hush his friend, you in turn decided to make silly faces at Nino for his comment. "Hey Y/n, from one due to another. Will you date Adrien?"

"Nino!" Adrien whispered harshly at his friend who wiggled his eyebrows.

"According to his fans, we're getting married in the summertime, though I prefer to be a winter bride."

"Not answering the question dudette!" Nino teased.

"Yeah, I'd date this blondie." You said before munching on some veggies and Adrien was going into cardiac arrest at how bluntly you said the truth.

"Shoot your shot!" Nino tells Adrien who comes down from his shock.

"Y/n would you-" Adrien was caught short by the school bell, he saw how you gathered your food and stood up.

"Let's go, I don't want us to be late." You told him and he quickly followed with Nino behind him. 

On the way to class, you couldn't help wonder why Nino was so hyped about. Every time you tried to ask was met by Adrien speaking about one of the new videogames they were playing. Not wanting to pry you shrugged it off as guys being guys.

During the next class periods, you only looked at the window hoping something interesting could happen. Maybe an alien invasion could prove to be useful on a mundane day. 

"Ms. L/n I doubt the window will tell you the answer?"

"According to the window, it's base log 4.67" You replied automatically.

"Well then why don't you do the next 8 problems on the board?"" The teacher replied to your witty comment and you got up with the calculator. "Without the aid of a calculator."

_ "Even with a calculator, these problems are hard." "Isn't Y/n acting standoffish today?" "Wonder if she'll get akumatized?" _ The whispers came left and right and you poped some of your joints to quiet them down.

"Do you want a step-by-step process as well?" You asked the teacher who nodded. As you began to write you timed yourself on how these silly tasks would take. It turns out that after 5 minutes you were done writing the last answer as you handed back the marker to the teacher who stood there shocked at the correct answers.

"W-" The teacher was caught short as you sat back at your seat before the could deliver their praise at your detailed work. "On to the next set of problems."

Everything became white noise as others were called to answer questions from time to time. In the end, you feel asleep a period before the end of the class and no one was the wiser.

After much debate from the rest of the day, Adrien finally got the courage to have you rely on him, but the school was not the right place with so many prying eyes. "Y/n are you busy today?" Adrien asked your form who look in deep thought. "Y/n?" Adrien asked as he moved closer to you.

"I think she fell asleep, she hasn't moved since the start of the last period." Ivan stated and Adrien nodded as he looks back at your relaxed breathing.

"Y/n?" Luka exclaimed as he put a hand on your head jolting you awake. "Were you sleeping?"

"I was, what's up Adrien?" You let out a small yawn and rub your eyes, oblivious to the blushes from the two teens.

"We have another photo shoot today so we should get going." Adrien nudged you and you nodded.

"Right, can't leave them hanging." You stretched and remembered that Luka was also there. "Oh I'm quitting the band, you guys should find a better keyboardist." 

"Wait? You're quitting?!" Luka's raised voice made you cringe at its intensity.

"Exclusive rights are handed to my boss right now, therefore I can't do the band gig anymore." You extended your hand to Luka as you told the lie, you just couldn't handle being in a band where the music harmonized but the bandmates didn't. "Good luck with the band, from one musician to another, if you need help I'll extend my hand. Well then, we should get going." You motioned Adrien to follow you as you left a bewildered Luka.

"Y/n are you sure about that? I don't want my father's contract to push you from your passions." Adrien spoke as the two of you walked out of school.

"Yeah, it's just the vibe of the band is off kinda like a puzzle piece that doesn't fit in. Not to mention the only time I ever fit in was with you in piano lessons" You say as you hip-bump him without a care in the world. 

"Y'know that you can count on me to come to your rescue."

"The feeling is mutual then, now let's get to the studio, can't be late to work!"

・‥…━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━…‥・

As you were driven to the studio you were surprised that a medic was waiting for you in the changing room.

"I'm fine, no need for needles," You protested but it fell on deaf ears. Mr. Agreste instructed the doctor to make sure you made a full recovery. You sat on the couch as the doctor cleaned your wounds, nothing stung so you didn't have many emotions to show. Adrien, on the other hand, sat next to you to avoid the open wound.

"Y/n you should be more careful," Mr. Agreste commented, "We can hide your wound with an accessory."

"Thank you, sir, I'll be more careful from now on."

"Good, Nathalie please take Y/n's wardrobe. After that, you can join Adrien." Mr. Agreste was pleased with how easily you complied with orders, someone so obedient could help him with his bigger plans.

Once your wounds were properly stitched you joined Nathalie with the wardrobe. She didn't speak much as you stood there while she wrote everything down and the photographer who yelled posses for you to do. When the job was done you gave her a brief thank you as you walked towards Adrien's room.

"Never knew modeling could be this fun, I feel like a doll." You comment as you walk up to Adrien who was back to his normal clothes.

"I didn't pin you for the type to like this kind of stuff." Adrien handed you a drink.

"I've always liked dressing up." It's true, ever since you found your parents lair you liked to dress up in the various costumes they had. That extended to the heists you participated as time went on. "I'm getting used to the job, it's thanks to you I get to have all this fun."

"Is anything bothering you of late? You didn't sit next to your usual group of friends."

"Let's head to your home and I'll tell you about it."

"Sure!" Adrien offered his arm and you gladly took ith without a second thought.

・‥…━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━…‥・

Once at Adrien's room you collapsed face-first on the sofa, Adrien nudged your legs so he could sit at the end.

"I'm taking that the sleepover was tragic." Adrien tried to joke as you slowly lifted your body to sit properly. Adrien felt a shift of weight as your head made his shoulder it's current home.

"Did you know I was adopted?" You told him as a sigh escaped your lips, Adrien's shoulder shifted as you patted his back. "Someone said I'm too prideful due to my family status so it was then when I told them about my adoption. It doesn't bother me when they say stuff about me I do hide my true intention with new people because they're fickle when it comes to others. But that changed when they spoke of my parents in a bad way, in truth they are wonderful people who shouldn't be spoken badly of."

"There are things we can't let slide, so at the end that was your tipping point?"

"Yes, but before anyone tells you any different I want you to know that I truly care for you and I never once lied about my feelings when it came to you. Who could lie to those beautiful green eyes."

Adrien was touched, his hand made his way to your waist to hold you closer. He was happy when you nuzzled into the crook of his neck without hesitation.

"They also made me take part in this dating game." You grumbled and slowly reddened at the memory.

"So they tried to pry into your love life?" Adrien joked and noticed how the redness of your cheeks soon spread to your ears.

"I should be more careful, I only told Alix how I was fond of someone and look where it got me." Your eyes wandered and settled at the paperweight by his monitor, it was shaped like the one you put on a statue. "This is cute, where you get it?"

"Oh the Lourve was selling them, apparently the statue they put was the real one that resided in the Effiel Tower. Pretty outstanding from Magpie."

"Oh..." That caught your interest, no one knew who did it other than your family, "Magpie did it?"

"Y-yeah they had to, look at the bird model." 

"I didn't see that in the news..." You commented and Adrien closed the gap as he explained how it had to be Magpie. Looking closer something caught your eye but you decided to let it slide off as you smiled to yourself at the new discovery.

"Cute, I wonder if they have keychains or phone straps." You caressed the paperweight feeling the ridges of the statue. 

"We should get one, my dad is working on a clothing line inspired by Magpie."

"Wow..." You twirled your hair at how far you've come, "tell me more will you?"

You spent your time chatting with Adrien about how modeling tends to work, such as the basis of poses and how it looks more difficult than it sounds. Intrigue filled your eyes as you stared in awe at Adrien as he talked, upon discovering your doleful eyes staring at him his heart started to beat faster.

"Am I boring you?" Adrien asked a bit embarrassed about how the conversation turned into him ranting about work.

"Nope, I want to know more." You relaxed as you put your chin on your palm and Adrien continued to talk about modeling. It wasn't until later that your phone buzzed that you checked who it was from. "Continue talking Adrien, I'm listening to every word, okay?" You pull out your phone to read the message.

_ "We should start over..."  _ It was from Luka, you rolled your eyes and muted his texts. Though occasionally you saw how your screen lighted up and read the first lines.

"We should celebrate after that, I know how..."

"Oh? Tell me where are we going?"

"That'll ruin the surprise!"

"Boo!" You pout at Adrien seeing if he will give into your puppy eyes.

"Being cute is not going to work... Y/n I'm not going to tell you" Adrien said as he tried to look away from you, he really wanted to give in.

"Well if keeping it a secret is important then I won't pester you." You stretched as you made your way to his couch and turned on the game, "Let's play a bit no?"

After much protest and assuring him that you won't damage your stitches he obliged and you jumped happily. 

"About your contract, it said that we're supposed to act as a couple once my father gives his press conference," Adrien stated as he handed you a controller, he didn't fail to see how unbothered you seem about this piece of information. "We can y' know, not do that if that's what you want..."

"It's fine, it just means more time together which I don't mind it happening." Your heart was beating quickly as you looked at the games to avoid his gaze. Before you could confess your love to Adrien you need to be 100% sure he likes the real you rather than the Y/n he came to know at the beginning of the friendship.

"Well, I guess we're an item then!" Adrien said cheerfully, he wanted to mentally facepalm himself for chickening out at the last minute. There was pressure from his father who wanted you to be part of the family, still, Adrien had his doubts if this is something you truly wanted.

"Guess nothing has changed then!" You replied happily and Adrien pulled you into a tight hug, you could smell his cologne and feel his heartbeat as you snuggled closer. 

Adrien was happy to have you in his arms, he didn't fail to see from afar saw how Plagg was making kissy faces at him. His smile than turn to one of wistfulness as he reminded himself that this was a fake relationship, there was so much he had to share, there was still time for you to tell you everything but for now, all he wanted is to stay with you like this and in due time he can finally tell you how he feels when it comes to you.

The two of you ended up cuddling on the sofa as he put some movies in the background. There was a silence in the room but it radiated love as you played with his hand or when he made a comment about the movie. Halfway through the second film the two of you fell asleep.

It wasn't until two hours later that you felt someone caress your cheek gently, it reminded you about that time when you fell asleep at Nino's place a few months ago.

"Is it time to go?" You ask as you stiffed a yawn.

"Nathalie came up and ask if you'll join us for dinner?" Adrien asks as he motioned to his other caretaker.

"If that's okay with you and your father." You sat up from your cuddling position to look at Nathalie.

"Yes, he will join the two of you. Dinner will be ready in 30 minutes." Nathalie excused herself and you blushed at Adrien.

"Umm did she..." You ask and Adrien nodded.

"It's not like it was something bad." Adrien teased.

"Y'know what I mean. I'll be back, I need to use the bathroom." You give him a kiss on his cheek as you wiggle away from his arms and leave.

As Adrien's bathroom door closed he went to touch his cheek where your lips were a moment ago.

"She left a lip stain on you," Plagg went to inspect it closer, "It smells like cherry."

"Yeah..."

"Wow, you're really whipped!"


	26. Declarations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the chapter is released! I love reading the comments you guys make and it's also the source for me trying to make them both longer and more entertaining. Stay safe and remember that I'm always one click away if you guys need something (•◡•) /

"You guys make a cute pair..." Your mother commented as she waved her phone at you showing how Mr. Agreste called in to talk about how sent a report for the future press conference.

"Have I gained a fan?" You tease your mother who only rolls her eyes, it was nice to see her act playful even with news this big.

"I trust that you know what you're doing, not to mention you have a twinkle in your eye ever since you and Adrien have gotten closer."

"Thanks!" You yell as you playfully walk up the stairs, though it was part of the contract, spending time with Adrien made you happy even if it didn't involve music for the time being.

Crashing into your bed after bathing you checked your profile for anything interesting.

"Woah..." your Instagram was booming with followers, mostly Adrien's as they commented on your pictures. Though some were the usual hate comments, the rest was very nice some even commenting on how their 'ship' has sailed due to the impromptu press conference Mr. Agreste is going to hold. "Cute." You look at your messages and find Luka's.

"We should start over..." You say out loud, looking at the time stamp that was around 3 hours ago. You closed the app and decided to watch some videos before going to sleep. It looks like even online channels started to air about your new job position in the Agreste line.

"We asked Gabriel Agreste about this, his assistant gave us a response over email: "The girl is Adrien's tutor and future face of one of the clothing lines." Talk about talent! Not only is the girl a wonderful piano player but she's also going to be the face of Mr. Agreste's new fashion line, a dream to many models, and this girl just swept in! Hopefully, we get to see this girl and Adrien in future videos, I'd love to see them vlog about their day. They make the perfect couple it's almost criminal."

"Perfect couple..." You said as you closed your eyes and drifted to sleep. Hoping that nothing will harm the newly established relationship, fake or not you truly hoped that it has a happy ending.

・‥…━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━…‥・

The next day Mr. Agreste was holding a press conference due to all the buzz of Adrien's potential girlfriend.

"Mr. Agreste, who's this mystery girl?" A reporter asked.

"As stated before, she's the new face for the fashion line. We wanted someone who had both the elegant aura with a mischievous personality, basically, something only obtained in this model." Mr. Agreste replied.

"Is it true she's your son's girlfriend?"

"She is," The comment made the paparazzi lose it but were silenced when Mr. Agreste resumed his statement, "She was chosen before being my son's girlfriend. We kept it hidden but due to threats she's received we have decided to confirm it, we ask the fans to accept her as she makes Adrien happy."

"TIKKI!!!!" Marinette yelled at her friend as she saw the live stream of the press conference. "She's Adrien's girlfriend I feel lied to!"

"Why don't you try asking Y/n? Look the group chat is typing read what they're saying."

_[Nino]_

_ I knew it! Alya you owe me 40 Euros! _

_[Alya]_

_ _Quiet dow_n Nino I need Y/n to tell me that. _

_[Alix]_

_ Y/n would never date Adrien! She thinks of him as a sibling!! _

_[Ivan]_

_ Luka might be sad after th _ is...

Suddenly everything came to a halt as a writing bubble appeared in the chat.

_[Chloe]_

_ Adrien has confirmed the news and I'll be the maid of honor at their wedding. So if anyone picks on Y/n you'll deal with me!" _

"I can't even ask her after I made those assumptions about her family." Marinette lamented to Tikki. "I messed up thing so much that Adrien is going to marry someone else!"

・‥…━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━…‥・

You sat with Kagami as you helped her catch up with school work. Out of everyone you met so far, she was the one you could actually call a true friend. She's reserved compared to the other students at school but that's what made you click with her, you both had the same awkward air yet never made a decision you would regret.

"I'm glad you decided to show your true self, I know the culture shock is big when it comes to a place like this." Kagami commented and you nodded.

"When you told me to stop hesitating I hesitated more, but when it came to my family's future that's when I took your advice. Thank you for guiding me all this time." You replied and Kagami smiled.

"I'm flattered that you think that highly of me, though I knew that from the moment we went head-to-head that you had more to show. I appreciate showing your true-self to me." 

Your phone buzzed and you paid no mind to it, that is until it started to buzz uncontrollably. Irritated, you picked the phone only to turn it off.

"I can see why you dislike it," Kagami said as she took a sip of her tea.

"Never forget to mute group chats, they're just losing their minds about the press conference." You reply as you show her the phone.

"I remember you spoke to me about this over the phone, to think you'd settle for Adrien. Needless to say, I hope the relationship goes well, even if I did see you as a rival at some point it's all in the past."

"We're still fencing rivals right? Because if that's out of the deal then I'll have to tell Adrien we can't date." You joke causing Kagami to laugh lightly at your proposal.

"What will you do when I return to Japan?"

"Cry and then transfer to your school," You gave Kagami a lopsided smile and she tried to hide her laughter. "it's a good plan and I can just join a modeling agency over there to make money!"

"Sounds like it, I hope we stay friends even if one of us leaves."

You continued to help Kagami in her schoolwork and vice versa, it was good to see someone who didn't demand much from you and let loose.

・‥…━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━…‥・

_[Unknown Number]_

_ It's Y/n, I had to change the phone number since I was being spammed. _

You hit sent to the group chat as you destroyed the old chip and installed a newer one in your old phone. Not a bad upgrade from a burner phone, placing the components your new 'day' phone, it buzzed after a few minutes.

_[Luka]_

_ Are you really going out with Adrien? _

You groaned as you read the message on the lock screen, this was not something you wanted to deal with. Putting the phone on silent you grabbed some tools to set some components down. Only to be disturbed by a knocking on your window. There was only one person in Paris that found time out of their busy schedule to come to see you late at night.

"My Lady, it seems like our love is forbidden now that you have been promised to someone." Chat Noir said dramatically and you struck a dramatic pose in response.

"If only my love knew my true feelings, then I may feel a bit hopeful."

"Y'know, you're a really good actress. You should try to be in movies."

"Care to be my agent? Someone as business savvy as you can be a good help."

"I have my hands filled, though I have to say I was expecting more security due to the commotion." Chat remarks as you pull him into your room.

"This house isn't on the public registry with our name so no one has caught wind of it." You played with your hair until you heard the kitchen timer go off, "I'll be back, I made some muffins, would you like something to drink?"

"Tea is good, I'll wait here."

As you left Chat couldn't help to see how your phone light up. He didn't want to look at your private chats but something caught his eye.

_[Luka]_

_ Are you really going out with Adrien? Or are you just with him out of pity/contract? _

He wanted to disintegrate his phone but the doubt grew on him. You wouldn't just agree to be his fake girlfriend if you felt bad for him right? Then again his father made it clear that the two of you would be together, and he always made things work in his favor. 

_ "Is Luka the boy she likes?" _ Chat thought to himself, other than him as a civilian, there was Luka who seemed to be near you most of the time. Not to mention he's seen how kind Luka is to others and the special treatment he gives you.  _ "Am I just a second option? It seems like I'm always the second option these days..." _

"Does that thing keep buzzing?" You asked as you put the tray by the coffee table. Looking at Chat you saw how his ears were flat, that's when you saw the text.

"I didn't mean to I-" Chat was silenced at you grabbed the phone and turned it off, not bothering to look at the new messages.

"It's not your fault, reading that message just pissed me off. I guess he thinks that me not being in the band is due to my contract, to be honest, I like how things are right now." You sat down grabbing a pillow as you pressed your face and screamed. 

"G-geez Adrien sure is a lucky guy." Chat tried to console you as he patted your head, mostly to reassure himself that you're true to your relationship with him out of your own volition. "I mean you two are already an item right?"

"Out of everyone in this city, I never once lied or hid anything from him. He's a good friend and hopefully, this relationship goes well for both of us, even if it ends in me just being his friend. Who would've thought that someone who I found very intriguing would be my fake boyfriend?"

"T-that's reassuring..." he was glad that there was no ill intent or collusion to bring the two of you together, still that message haunted him in more ways than one.

"Enough talk of depressing things, how are you?" You idly chatted until he asked you a question about the city, apparently it was a riddle he found in a tourist book.

"A garden near the train tracks sounds like the Jardin Atlantique, you should start there. You should check other gardens near train tracks as well, but the Atlantique is very famous for the plants it has."

"I knew you were smart to solve that riddle, to be honest, I kept going to the wrong park. I even got a second hint and still got nothing."

"No problem, it does sound like a tough riddle." What kind of tourist book has a riddle that vague? That's when the thought came to you and you looked back to your masked friend smiling.

"You solved it easily! If you ever need something don't hesitate to tell me." Chat said if you told him to bring you the moon and stars he was ready to sprint into action.

"Actually there's one thing you could help me with..." You motioned him towards you, Chat happily obliged that is until you told him what you really wanted.

"I don't think Ladybug will agree to that..." Here he was with his crush/fake girlfriend who asked to be part of the crew and that's all he dared to say. If it was up to him he'd had you on the team in a heartbeat, but Ladybug was more of the leader between them so he couldn't make that decision.

"True, then give me an akuma instead." You pouted, it was a simple request, in the right conditions maybe you could dissect it and see what made it so special.

"That's even worse!" He can't for the life of him let you be taken by Hawkmoth. You already had two interactions with an akuma and he doesn't even know if you were lucky to survive a third.

"Alright, but I'll tell you one thing if I do not survive the third encounter then please quick my butt and tell me what I did."

"If you become a target I won't let Hawkmoth take you away from me." It was a promise, not as a superhero but as someone who loved you.

"Careful, you might have to fight my boyfriend!" You tease, "Though he has to like be my real boyfriend first..."

"He has to be crazy if he doesn't love you, though I can just steal you away to make things easier for us." He playfully nudges you and you roll your eyes at his antics.

It seemed that tonight was another night that Chat Noir found himself staying up by your side.


	27. Truths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, I got this chapter done! And guess what? I got inspired by another fic idea that should be coming up soon enough! I'll make a poll as always so you guys can choose the love interest. Once again I'm happy I get to write for the ML fandom, you guys are so nice (ɔ◔‿◔)ɔ ♥

You yawn as you slump in your seat waiting for class to start. Though you loved sleeping your required hours, having someone to talk to at night makes it worth being this sleepy.

"Y/N!!" Alix screams as you fall from the chair at the sudden action.

"It's a bit early to scream..." you groan and look at Alix who was accompanied by Nathaniel.

"Is it true you guys are dating?" The sudden question from Nathaniel didn't shock you as it should but what did perk your interest was a tone of hostility behind it.

"Yes were are." You stated.

"Do you even like him?" Both of them asked in unison. 

You stood from your seat and got your belongings, truth be told you were tired of the same question. Plus you didn't like the constant need for them to know everything about you it's becoming a constant headache. Before you could leave Alix put her hand gently on your shoulder making you turn around to see your friend.

"Y/n, I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable when I made you hang out with the other girls. It's just that you're so secretive that I just wanted to be there for you like you were for me." Alix told you.

"You really are a good friend Alix, I've never encountered someone willing to go to that much effort for me." You hugged Alix and she hugged back eagerly causing you to laugh. "Nathaniel you're also a great friend but that's all there is between the two of us, sorry if I gave you the wrong idea."

"No harm was done, how did you know about my crush?" Nathaniel questioned and look back at Alix who denied being the one who spilled the beans.

"Seems like I had bad luck making guys who hit on Marinette like me, not to mention you always looked at me with such a soft tone it was easy to figure it out." You gave Nathaniel a hug as well, as you were about to part Alix join in the hugging palooza. "No holding back on my part from now on, are we still friends?"

"Best friends!" The two of them said and you smiled at their eagerness.

The bell rang and the students started to fill in the seats, everything was going smoothly until you saw and angry Alya hand Nino 40 Euros. You started to imagine why Alya would give him that much money until the teacher broke you out of your daydream.

"Alya and L/n are partners for this project." The teacher declared and you looked at the blond with a blank stare until the rubric came to your hands.

"A project on... art..." You scanned the paper and it could be any a PowerPoint in any artist be it new or old as well as any medium considered art.

"Now please sit with your assigned partner for the project and brainstorm which artist you would like to choose You will be given time during class to do the project but the rest is up to you and your partner."

"Sup..." You say calmly as Alya tries to give you the most courteous of hellos yet you don't fail to see the rolling of her eyes.

"Guess we're partners." She said dryly while she picks up her phone, not a second later you hear Marinette's phone beep.

"How about movies? It's simple and we can just watch a couple of films." You quickly said ignoring the way Alya ignored you in favor of texting the bluenette.

"Crap!" Marinette said a bit too loudly causing others to look at her, to her surprise the only one not looking at her exalted state was you who wrote down little notes about the topic. Alya tried to calm her friend who was throwing daggers to the back of your head.

"Or you could pick a topic and I'll go along with it." You watched all of Alya's movements, and she was beyond pissed at you. "If that doesn't work we can just ask for different partners." 

"So what topic are you two going to do?" Nino asked his girlfriend.

"We still don't know." She stated as you turned away shyly, if she was going to be on her friend's side then the best you could do is gather sympathy from her boyfriend. "Maybe I should ask for a different partner, Alya might rather work with someone else."

"Alya don't be like that to Y/n, dudette and you should come over with me and Kim to do our project."

"N-no really, I think it's best if we call this partnership off." You say quickly as your cheeks reddened in protest.

"Teach! Can Y/n be my partner instead?!" Kim loudly yells causing everyone's eyes to be on the small group.

"What seems to be the problem?" The teacher asks as they walk to the group, it was Alya's turn to be flustered but refused to say anything. "Why the partner change?"

"Alya dislikes Y/n because Marinette dislikes her as well." Kim bluntly says as you try to stifle a laugh in the form of a cough. But on the bright side, you now know who to turn to spill the beans.

"Well, I don't see why Alya should like Y/n, she never once done anything bad to her and vice versa. Needless to say that the real world doesn't care if you want to work with the person you don't get along with."

"I-I don't mind working with her s-so it's fine." Your voice trembled as well as some stray tears started to form in your eyes.

"Y/n?" Nino's concerned voice made someone other than Marinette whip their head to your form. Adrien's heart broke that his best friend's girlfriend somehow made it possible for tears to come out.

"Y/n would you like to join someone's team?" The teacher sighed, this was not a petty problem they wanted to deal with but playing mediator was their role.

"I'd like to work alone if that's fine."

"Work with Juleka and Chloe."

"Yeah work with me Y/n and ditch that loser!" Chloe announced as she stood up and gathered your things before protesting.

"Everyone back to work." The teacher declared after some wandering eyes fell at the newly appointed teams.

Marinette had more questions about you than she previously had before, why did you ignore her antics when everyone including the teacher turned their head to her? She started to scratch her head and didn't notice when Alya sat next to her as a new partner.

"That little weasel." Alya stated as her friend nodded.

"She clearly made a scene so she could make you look bad. Maybe she's secretly a villain and is planning on stealing Adrien's fortune!"

"No, you're just jealous that Y/n is going out with Adrien." Alix, the original member of the partnership stated quietly. "You've had it out for her the moment she stepped in. Instead of complaining, you two should focus on the work or I'll pick a different group."

Marinette and Alya apologized to Alix who shrugged them off and continued her work. Still, the bluenette couldn't help but throw daggers at the back of your head as you actually convinced Chloe to do some work for the project.

"Just send all of that and we'll put it together in the presentation, knowing you I bet this is nothing." You goaded Chloe as she made even more suggestions for the project.

"Well, I'll send everything to you two so you better make the presentation worthy of someone like me." Chloe chimed and you nodded. "You there," She said as she pointed at Juleka, "make sure to help Y/n in everything as I do the fieldwork."

"Nice going Y/n." Juleka whispered as Chloe kept on ranting about the topic.

"No problem, it's the least I could do for this group." You responded as you took notes on Chloe's rant, "I'll go to your house to put the project since Chloe might be busy."

"Nonsense, I'll join my bestie in this project and drive you to her place, it's the least I could do for Adrienkins." Chloe's eyes widen as she realized her mistake. "Sorry..."

"Adrienkins huh?" You smile to yourself, such a cute nickname! "I'm not a jealous girlfriend and I know he was your friend before becoming my boyfriend so don't worry too much."

"Thanks!" 

As class ended you returned to your seat to get ready for the next class while occasionally looking at your phone if the new spyware you installed worked. At first, you only installed it on Chloe for a test run but now you managed to install it on everyone in the class once Chloe was kind enough to defend your honor when the whole world knew of your relationship with Adrien.

_ "Seems this number is important." _ You thought to yourself as you spied into Marinette's phone, this was a number she always called but never messaged. There were also other audio files complied about Marinette's life but that had to wait for after school.

・‥…━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━…‥・

"Let's take my car it will be quicker." Chloe stated as she pulled you with her to the door.

"Juleka has to give us directions though..." You said as you put on an earpod but you were quickly halted when Adrien stops in front of the two of you.

"Can I steal Y/n for a bit?"

"Take your time I'll be in the car." Chloe leaves with Juleka following behind.

"How are you feeling?" Adrien asks as he takes your hand and leads you to the nearest bench. "You still have some tear stains in the corner of your eyes."

"I-I'm fine, I think Alya is just angry that her friend wasn't the lucky girl to be your girlfriend. But don't get angry at her or Nino."

"Always thinking of others, you should put your happiness first."

"I'll keep it in mind, my current team is very nice and Chloe is treating me like a little sister." You chuckle, Chloe was cold but she's very kind in her own way but she means well.

"I'm glad she's being nice to you, she considers you a friend and texted me that she'll care for you." Adrien ruffled your hair causing you to smile bigger at the act of kindness. "You should go do the project and take a nap you seem to doze off a lot in class."

"Sorry, it's just that there's this cute cat that comes by my house and I lose track when I tell them my troubles." 

"Maybe that cat should think a bit before keeping you up late." Adrien gave you a small kiss on your cheek as he waved goodbye to you.

"Don't work too hard!" You yelled at him as you got into Chloe's car.

"You, give him directions!" Chloe demanded and Juleka complied. "I'll drop you off before going to the museum and send you my part."

"Thanks, don't have too much fun without me." You teased the blonde who only flips her hair at you. "We're here, you were right Chloe, your car is quicker!"

"Thanks, beastie, now off I go see ya!"

"Can you also charm snakes?" Juleka joked as you laughed at her statement.

"I won't ever know if I don't try." You wink at the raven-haired girl as you walked to her living room. "Alright so let's do our part." Pulling out your laptop and books you started the project with Juleka.

After two hours of Chloe leaving the two of you, she sent all of the pictures of the paintings in the museum even adding an interview with the artists courtesy of her father.

"Nice." Juleka praised the other girl by doing her part of the project, "And I'm also sorry about the sleepover..."

"All in the past, not to mention my problem should be with Marinette and not the rest of you girls."

"That may be true but... I also hoped you liked my brother..."

"I'll forgive you under one condition..."

"Anything you want I'll do."

"Tell me about the time you were akumatized."

"Where do you want me to start?"

After talking with Juleka during your break of the project you ended up with the same evidence you found while searching the web.

"So you don't remember much other than what others have told you..." You sighed at you lean back in your seat.

"Sorry I wasn't of much help." Juleka had a crestfallen face as she saw how little it eased your curiosity. "But why the interest?"

"Just wanted to know what this villain is up to and how to avoid it." It was a blatant lie, if being akumatized gave that much power then the most impossible heists could become a reality. You were pulled out from your bubble once Juleka's phone rang, you told her you didn't mind if she answered the call.

"I have to grab something, I'll be back in an hour."

"No problem, I'll catch a nap here."

"You'll mess up your back, use my bed instead."

"Thanks." You agreeing to Juleka's suggestion you relaxed under her sheets as she left the Liberty under your care. After waiting a few minutes you decided to eavesdrop into Marinette's phone, luckily she was on a video chat with Alya.

_ "Y/n totally did it on purpose to gain Nino's sympathy, he even got mad at you because it upset Adrien!" Marinette exclaimed to the brunette who nodded on her end of the call.  _

_ "I know, Nino gave me the silent treatment for an hour until I promised to say sorry to her." There was a long pause until Alya's eyes lit up, "I'll dig up info on Y/n maybe we can find if she's a villain like you said." _

Before you could listen to more you felt the weight of the bed shift, it couldn't be Juleka as the GPS stated she was still nowhere near her home. Then that could only mean one thing, it was her brother who sat in her bed.

"Did Y/n hide because you told her I'll be here?" Luka helplessly asked the form he believes to be his sister under the sheets. "But I'm glad she's forgiven you, I'm jealous that she still talks to you. She's never once returned my messages."

"Mhhmp..." You nod, grabbing your phone hoping that you can find a way to make Luka leave and plan your escape.

"Adrien is really lucky, he's perfect at everything and he's managed to steal someone as beautiful as Y/n from me..." 

_ "He thinks I'm pretty?" _ You think as you find your chest constrict your breathing, you have to think faster to leave the room and avoid these feelings.

"Do you think I still have a chance?" Luka sighed as he relaxed into the bed, "You're awfully quiet, are you getting sick?" He saw a nod from what he assumed to be the head as you dialed a few commands and Luka's phone rang.

"Looks like I have a call..." Luka picked up and heard the other end requesting if Kitty Section could play in a concert. "Of course!" He quickly left closing the door behind him.

_ "Gotta go!" _ You yelled internally stuffing everything in your bag, looking to the hallway Luka's door was open and he would catch you. The safest bet would be going through a window on the side of the ship. 

Grabbing the ledge you balanced yourself in the small spaced you could find footing, you were quick enough to leave once you heard Luka yell from the room.

"Y/n booked us with one of her acquaintances, sh-" He fell silent as he saw no one was in the room and the window was open. 

You prayed that he would go to the upper deck as you pull your upper body to stable ground.  _ "Note to self: put a tracker on him..." _ You cursed at how your novice mistake. Running away from the Liberty you hid in an alleyway to review everything so far.

"People don't remember akumatizations and I'm in deep shit..." You murmured to yourself. That's when the lightbulb clicked in your head, the one who was missing and the most likely to be Ladybug could only be one person,  _ "Marinette is Ladybug, blue hair and pig-tails. But to prove that..."  _ You thought as you walked down the alley until you felt someone's presence.

Pulling out your phone you faked texting as you walked through the maze of alleyways. The only thing you were certain is that a rummage of nearby dumpsters caught was persistent as it decided to follow you for the good 30 minutes. Making a quick turn to catch the mystery presence you quickly climbed up a fire escape. The source of the metal clanking slowly approached, you were expecting a villain only to located a trashcan... with red legs?

"Show yourself!" You yelled as you pounced at the trashcan who fell under the unexpected weight.

"Gah!" Ladybug shrieked as you started to go after her mask.

"Thought superheroes knew better than eavesdropping into people's conversations?"

"It's not what you think!" Ladybug struggled to keep your hands away from her, but she seemed to push you away from the hardest when your hands came close to her earings. 

"Whatever, don't follow people." You pulled your hands away but still sat on top of her.

"Don't you think you should move?" 

"Nah," You grabbed her yoyo and inspected it, it had a communicator inside as well as for instructions. "so even superheroes need a how-to manual, guess you guys are pretty amateurs."

"You have some nerve..." Ladybug scoffed.

"So, why the sudden interest in me?" You ask as you shift your weight unto your knee as you stare down the bluenette. "Y'know other than superheroes there's something else I hate..." A small smirk adorned your face, maybe this was your chance, all she had to do is take the bait.

"What else do you hate?"

"Well, there's this girl in my school," You play with the yoyo contemplating your next words, "she was ignoring me so I decided to make her look back but she's pretty much a zero."

"What?!" Ladybug was livid, she was about to kick you off when you boinked her with her yoyo, that was the last straw! "How dare do something like that to Alya?!"

"Who said it was Alya?" You turned to her chuckling at the quick deduction she made, "Nice to know you really are Marinette under all of that magic."

"H-how di-d-" She stammered on and on, going a mile a minute as she made excuses.

"Give it up, I know your secret Marinette Ladybug Dupain-Cheng." You sang to her as a dejected Marinette looked at you in defeat.

"What do you want for your silence?"

"Bargaining are we? I want that black butterfly so I can study it."

"An akuma?!"

"Yeah, also stop yelling it's hurting my ears." Finally getting up you motion her to follow you as well through the alleyways. "So you just sing this and say 'lucky charm'"? You try to make a cool yoyo trick but it ended up with the yoyo manifesting itself into an object.

"H-how?" Marinette inspected the object, it looked like a box with different compartments and strangely familiar.

"It's empty..." You saw as you pulled at all the boxes to find nothing inside. "Unless you know what it represents?"

"I think we need to see someone that's associated with the box."

"Brilliant!" You climb over Marinette's shoulders and sit as she does her best to carry you, "Hurry along take me to your leader."

"You're so infuriating!"

"So I've been told."

You relaxed on her shoulders as you calculated who the possible leader of this duo could be, regardless maybe you'll finally get some answers.


	28. Accord

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NEW FIC: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25196860/chapters/61067236
> 
> Enjoy!

  
"Cute..." You cooed at the small kwami whom you came to know as Tikki, it seemed that she enjoyed your attention as she ignored her owner.

"Are you even listening?" Marinette snapped at you, a vein appeared in her forehead as she saw how you stuck your tongue at her. "What do you even look in here?" The question was directed to Master Fu who was amused at your antics.

"Careful blueberry, you might pop if you keep getting mad." Looking towards the older male you nodded at him, "So you want me to help you guys?"

"You're very smart Y/n, having you in this team can better our odds against Hawkmoth." Master Fu said hoping that you'll agree.

"Don't feel like it."

"STOP BEING SELFISH FOR ONCE!" Marinette was livid, how dare you refuse the honor that many wanted.

"Lower your voice," you growled as you lifted a finger at her, "My sense of justice isn't the same as yours, I don't want to be a hero that acts it has a need to be accepted not by you or by anyone."

"Then what is your justice?" Master Fu asked.

"Loyal to my beliefs and lifestyle."

"You're so selfish, you only think about yourself," Marinette repeats.

"You're only saying that because I'm dating Adrien, you never saw me as an equal and I won't work with someone who doubts me every step." Getting up you bowed to Master Fu, "I'm sorry but I won't help, nothing will change the fact that I don't believe in Ladybug's justice. She's someone who's helping others instead of letting others fight themselves, not to mention she and her partner are not meeting eye to eye. Someone like that will never be a leader in my eyes."

"Then why don't you become Ladybug?" Master Fu asked, causing Marinette's mouth to fly open and you to raise your head in confusion. "You have conviction and I want to see your justice."

"Pfft!" You laughed at the absurdity of the suggestion, "Sorry Master Fu, I don't like being a second choice when Marinette was the first choice."

"I don't know why you're even trying..." Marinette whispers to the older man who shakes his head at her comment. He slowly rose his hands to take off Marinette's earrings as he placed them in your hands.

"I ask this as a man who has also lost everything, please let me see your justice at least once."

"Only in memory do I accept this gift." You put on the earrings thanking the older man once more. "I'll make you proud!"

  
・‥…━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━…‥・

  
Over at the Agreste mansion, Adrien was daydreaming of the perfect date for him to confess his love to you. That is until his father's voice brought him back to the real world.

"Have you made it official with Y/n or are you just playing the pretend boyfriend?" Mr. Agreste asked his son who was currently working on his school work. "There's only so much I can do but if you don't act now then Y/n will get tired of you and walk from your life." 

"She's going through some things, I want to give her space..." Adrien explained, there was only so much he can say without you thinking he might be Chat Noir and his father was certainly not making it easier.

"Y/n is a great asset for this family, I want to ensure your future with her since you love her, but if this continues then her puppy love for you will get directed to someone else."

"We already have her 'dating' me what more do you have to ensure? She even quit being in Kitty Section because of the agreement with the company when we both know that music is one of her biggest passions."

Mr. Agreste pinched the bridge of his nose, his son was clearly not seeing how valuable you are, yet he didn't want his son to be discouraged but many he needed a little push but he had to find a strategy for that with his assistant later today. He knew the moment you spoke about Hawkmonth as a respectable person that he needed someone with your intellect to help him out and get those miraculous that he was constantly after. Not to mention that every time he tries to send an akuma to you it barely registers your emotions or worse you just pet it.

"Does Y/n still dislike superheroes?"

"She loves Chat Noir, she finds him charming." Adrien said as a small smile crept on his face. 

"And what about that villain... what's his name..." Mr. Agreste feinted ignorance hoping his son would fill the gaps.

"She always seems to want to catch one of those things he sends..." Adrien thought about the proposal you gave him as Chat Noir, he hopes you never get a third chance to be near an akuma and be unlucky.

"I see... I'll leave you to care for Y/n." Mr. Agreste smirked, if you were so interested in akumas then why won't he just send you one himself?


	29. Ladybird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Changed the fic name to be more fitting for the fic, also if you'll like to give feedback but don't have an account you can do it through the poll.

"Y/n! Wake up!" A small voice said to you as you turned off your fifth alarm for the day. "You'll be late for school!"

"Not going..." You groaned pulling the sheets over your head, ignoring the small voice who pleaded for a normal day.

"Your grade will get worse if you're irresponsible."

"Tikki, if you want to go to see Marinette just say so," You pull out the small box with the earrings of Ladybug handing it to the small kwami. "plus I have a scooter so we'll get there fast."

"Yes but you have to be ready for anything!"

"Alright..." You force yourself out of bed to get ready, Tikki followed you close making you wonder if this was a normal thing for her. "Are you worried about your real master?" You ask the kwami who hesitates to answer you. "It's fine if you don't want to answer."

"Marinette was wrong about you, you're kind in your own way..." Tikki finally admitted after you left her proximity and head to school.

・‥…━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━…‥・

"Marinette!" Tikki squealed once she saw the bluenette, though kwamis should never leave their owner she found it kind that you let her roam free.

"How is our mission going?" Marinette asked she made a deal before parting with Tikki that the kwami will investigate the house her backup lived in.

"It's a museum, nothing really fascinating. Wait!" Tikki exclaimed as Marinette's eyes grew in anticipation, "There are weird noises and Y/n said the place might be haunted so I don't really roam a lot."

While giving Tikki permission to see her previous owner you spent the time hanging out with Adrien and Nino doing the project. Nino was running late so it just you and Adrien. She was shifting uncontrollably which made you turn to the blonde, he was never good at hiding his feelings and you saw that right away.

"What's wrong?" You ruffle Adrien's hair as he blushes at the contact.

"Well, Nino wanted to apologize on behalf of Alya, but she said she'll do it since she made you cry yesterday..."

"I don't want an apology." You said gruffly as you fixed the small details of his project, Alya was being vague with you and that pissed you off more than anything.

"Though you also look a bit peeved, is there something your... boyfriend can help you with?" Adrien's mouth turned dry at the latter part, the only time he felt confident with you was as his superhero persona and not himself.

Adrien saw hoy you were looking for a way to tell him your problems but it was soon interrupted by someone who made their presence known with a bouquet of flowers obscuring his view of you.

"Y-" You were met face first with roses as you turned to talk to Adrien. "I think I ate a petal." You state as you retreat to look at the person holding the flowers.

"I wanted to thank you for the gig you gave us," Luka confessed as he lowered the roses to your hands. "I hope you like them."

"T-thanks..." You looked at the flowers, they were pretty but not one of your favorites.

"Y/n doesn't like roses, she prefers other types than just roses..." Adrien stated and she pulled you close to him.

"Yes but she also adores rose tea, and she can make that with this bouquet." Luka disputed.

"Y/n is also here and she thanks you," You chime as you felt the roses, it was such a touching detail and unexpected. Smelling the flowers you started to smile to yourself as the aroma filled your nose. "Thanks, Luka it seems that you cheered me up."

"I'm glad you liked them, even if they're a bit cliche I'm happy you liked them."

"Yes, not to mention the bouquet is small, it just adds more to the beauty..." 

Your short-lived happiness was stopped when Nino came running towards the three of you.

"Nino, what's wrong?' Adrien asked, his friend was out of breath as he struggled to tell what was the problem.

"Alya got akumatized again, she got angry and she's after Y/n." Nino exclaimed, it seems that he was able to give enough information to Adrien who was panicking over your safety. It didn't take much longer for Adrien to pull you into the locker room to hide you away in one of the lockers.

"Hide her in mine, Alya won't look there." Luka pointed as they both shoved you into the locker.

"Guys, I can defend myself." Your muffled voice spoke, you felt a small pressure next to your cheek, it was Tikki who was next to you. Signaling to the kwami to stay quiet you heard the two boys bickering over who should stay. "Both of you stop yelling, leave or Alya will find me."

"Fine..." Both of them grunted in unison, as their footsteps decreased you asked Tikki to check if they were anywhere near the room.

"All clear," Tikki responded, "I was worried that Lady Wifi got to you but then Nino told Marinette of what was happening."

"Lady Wifi sounds like a cool name... but it's funny that miraculous holders can get akumatized." You thought out loud as you made a plan, the last thing you wanted was to fight under Ladybug's name and legacy. Then again the look Master Fu gave you was the same look you had when you pleaded to become Magpie, all doubts dispersed as your gaze fell on Tikki. 

"Tikki spots on!" Transforming little by little you saw how your outfit differed from that of Marinette's Ladybug, yours had a princely look to it with a mixture of cavalry uniform, black was more prominent than red which suited your taste. 

Getting out of the locker was easy, the boys with all of their bickering had forgotten to make sure you were actually locked inside. Foregoing the door, the window was your only option as you climbed on top of the school.

"Where's the hotspot?" You looked around, nothing caught your eye, maybe Lady Wifi was taken care of by Chat Noir? He's capable of doing that much and more. 

_ "Kitty cat, come to the roof." _ You texted the hero as you hid behind some machinery.

To your suprised, Chat Noir came quickly and didn't bother to respond as he looked around the room.

"Yo!" You greet him and were met with the end of the metal pole he carried, "Oh, Ladybug is on vacation so I'm here as a substitute."

"And how can I trust you?"

Ah, that was the problem, there was no trust when there's a new partner in the usual friend group.

"And love itself is just as innocent as roses in May

I know nothing can drive it away

Though love itself is just as brief as a candle in the wind

And it's greedy just like sin..." You sang to Chat, it was one of his favorites that he often fell asleep to in your balcony when he visited you.

"Y/n?" Chat Noir, no, Adrien said lovingly, he was confused as to why you took on the Ladybug hero persona. "What, why?"

"I told you, Ladybug is on vacation, and these earrings were left on my balcony." You lied, it felt bad for lying to him this time around. "Come on partner!"

Pulling Chat Noir with you you swung from place to place following the people who were left on pause on Lady Wifi's rampage. 

"Looks like she's going to the TV station." You commented to Chat Noir.

"Why though?"

"Maybe she found some dirt on me or something, Nino said she's angry at me. She could just be plotting on making my image bad." You shrugged, if she ever did that then Gabriel Agreste will have to hide a body and you'll gladly help.

Getting inside the TV building proved to be easy, everyone was frozen in time as you inspected where she could be.

"It's early morning, her only option is the morning channels but even then there's only one program that all of France sees."

"You sure you're not Ladybug?" Chat Noir teased, his smile widens once you laughed at his assumption.

"I'm paw-sitive I'm not, and its Ladybird, don't want people to mix me with someone else."

"Ladybird seems more fun than Ladybug..." He joked as he kicked open the doors of the recording room.

"Lady Wifi with the real scoop! Who really is Y/n L/n?" Lady Wifi boasted to the camera and to the many video-drones that hovered around her, "Who are you?!" Her words were directed at you and not to your partner.

"Y'know, you really need to get the spotlight more love." You tease to Chat who blushes at the nickname.

"Breaking news! Chat Noir's new partner!" Lady Wifi's drones interrupted your banter as you looked back at the girl, "Where's Ladybug and who are you?"

"Don't know, the name's Ladybird." You extend your hand as Lady Wifi takes it eagerly forgetting her bargain with Hawkmoth. As you chatted her up you noticed that there were two likely scenarios, the akuma could be in one of the drones or in the remote. 

"So Ladybird, are you in a relationship with Chat Noir?"

"Aww, you're making me blush, between ** _ all the _ ** attention from the cameras and your ** _ drones _ ** I feel very embarrassed to say anything about our partnership. Maybe you should ** _ control _ **them over there to the sofa so we can talk more." You emphasized some words, Chat was quick to catch onto your words as he got his staff ready for your command.

"So it is true that someone else stole your heart?!" The question was directed to Chat Noir who became flustered at the question, was this a divine sign to declare his love?

"Ladybird is..."

"Lucky charm!" You yell, hitting Lady Wifi square in the face, the yoyo releases a... bat? "Whateves, batter up!" You tell Chat Noir as he directed the drones to your deadly swing, the last thing to meet your swing was the drone controller that released a black butterfly.

"Looks like you did good." Chat commented as you purified the akuma.

"We did a good job, it's not easy to adapt to a new partner." You give him a kiss on the cheek as a thank you for everything.

"Well now we have to go, but I'll see you later tonight." Chat says with a wink and some finger guns.

"I 'll let down my hair for you." You returned the compliment, but your eyes fell on Alya. "Maybe I should take her back, see ya."

Carrying Alya on your back she became conscious halfway to school, though her constant questions made you think twice if you really wanted to carry her back to safety.

"Alright buckaroo, just go up the stairs and I'll go my own way." You sighed as you put the girl down.

"Will I ever see you again?" Alya asked hopeful at your answer.

"Nah, one time job. After this, I'm going back to being me." You disappear from her sight, slowly making your way to the inside locker, just in time for the transformation to end.

"You were amazing! You didn't even use your Ladybug sight!" As Tikki continued to praise you she failed to notice how you took off the earrings and handed it to her. 

"It was fun but not me," You motion to the earring in your hand, "you should return to your friend and I'll catch some z's here." 

Tikki takes the miraculous as she looks at your sadly, though it was a short she really did value your time with you. Sensing her hesitation you lift her chin with your finger so her gaze can meet yours.

"If you ever need help don't hesitate to ask, now take care." As soon as Tikki leaves, you relax in the locker curling up to fall asleep. You were used to tight spaces so nothing was out of the ordinary, other than the roses that you cradled inside.

_ "Luka's locker smells like him..." _ You thought to yourself, it had a wooden undertone and a freshwater smell a perfect combination for the roses he'd gifted you.

"Y/n?" His voice broke your train of thought as Luka opened the locker and slowly shook your body, "You fell asleep, cute as always." He smoothed your hair, it was a weird deja vu.

"Alya is back to normal..." Adrien's voice trailed off as he saw how Luka doted on you. 

You sneeze, alerting the two boys that you're awake. Eyelashes fluttering as you let our another yawn slowly getting up.

"Is the school canceled?" You asked half-awake.

"Yeah, let's got to my place." Adrien pulled you along, his grip secured against yours, "Speaking of back to normal, we need to go on a date. The paparazzi are losing their minds because of Lady Wifi, so many think you're a gold digger."

"Phooey, but I need to ask you something." You tugged on Adrien's hand to get his attention. "Mrs. Bustier's birthday is this Friday, do you have a gift?"

"Umm..."

"How about we go on a shopping date, I'll help you get a gift for her."

"I love that idea."

"It's a date then."


	30. Photos

"What did you get her?" Adrien asked as he looked through the shopping windows, the options were endless and he was nowhere near picking a gift.

"I got her some soaps, y'know something she could use every day."

"Is that how you picked your gift?"

"Pretty much, I thought to myself: what would I like as a gift?"

"And you'd like soaps?"

"I need to smell nice, girls are like that, we want to smell nice even if it's for ourselves."

"Can you try this?" Adrien asked as he put a ring on your hand, "I need a model."

"Har har," putting the ring on you showed it to Adrien, "looks pretty..."

"Is it to your taste?" Adrien was trying to hide his interest, he already picked Ms. Bustier's gift this outing was just an excuse to be near you after the whole bouquet incident. He was relieved when you asked one of the maids to make some of them into tea, but that just proved Luka's point.

"Hmm... I think she'll like it she seems like the type to have this kind of style. I like this one over here..." You told Adrien about the ring, it wasn't a hard thing to do since you mostly handled jewelry and other gems. "Though these are fakes..." You whisper to Adrien and pull him away, who knew that shopping could bring you to another possible heist in one of the shops and their other retailers.

"How do you know? And shouldn't we tell the cops?"

"I'm sure Chat Noir will figure it out in due time, and I know they're fakes because they copied the design though it's mirrored upside down."

"Father always said that a woman's eye is very observant."

You hip bump Adrien as he laughs at your antics, it seemed that your outing attracted many of his fans as you were stopped after coming out of the store.

"C-can we take a picture?" The girls asked. 

"Umm..." Adrien looked at you, would you be jealous if he indulged his fans? He gets jealous himself when Luka talks to you, maybe you'll feel the same if he started to talk to other girls.

"Go ahead, I'll get us some drinks" You responded with a kind smile.

"Actually we want a picture of the two of you..." The girls started to surround the two of you, it looked like they were gazing at a Disney couple from the amount of pleading they did. "And some autographs!"

"Sure thing." You motioned Adrien to do the usual thing he did when talking to fans, from time to time his fans also directed questions at you and they were amazed by your generosity.

"We need to get going, it's our anniversary and I wanted to buy Y/n a gift." Adrien commented, causing his fans to squeal at his romantic actions. As they left, Adrien let out a sigh.

"I had enough gifts for today," You told Adrien, his fans rattled your nerves, avoid being out of public would be wiser.

"You deserve more than some regular roses, come let's go."

Your eyes widen, the reserved Adrien you've come to fondly cherish was showing a small frown in his features. It seemed that his Chat Noir personality was showing the more he spent time away from Ladybug.

"So," You giggled, "what am I getting for our anniversary?"

"How about..." Adrien thought as he looked around the shops, any other girl would want matching jewelry, then again you were far from normal, "how about a Chat Noir plushie, you seem to like him."

"I'm a Chat Noir stan," you exclaimed as you held onto Adrien closely, "would you like a Ladybug plush?"

"I'm not interested in Ladybug, I much rather have a plushie of you."

"T-that's going to be hard, I'm not a hero." You stammered as you glanced away from the blond. As you thought about what to give him you finally spotted something that he could keep close and match with you, "How about we take some pictures? The photobooth is just around the corner."

"I'll keep a picture of us in my wallet and on my desk."

"Then it's settled!"

Adrien and you headed to the booth, though photos of the two of you were often in a professional matter, it was nice to have some photos with the two of you goofing around.

・‥…━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━…‥・

"And then she deducted where the akuma could be without the need of the ladybug vision..." Tikki exclaimed to Marinette who was busy sewing Ms. Bustier's gift, ever since the kwami returned she's told Marinette about the time she's spent with you.

"That's great..." Marinette answered, she wanted to avoid getting pricked by the needle if she could, but Tikki was making it an impossible task.

"Ladybird is so amazing! Y/n is very smart, she should be a kwami user!"

"What did Chat Noir say?" Marinette asked it took one second for her to prick her finger, her injury only added to her anger.

"They were flirting most of the time. If you think about it, two superheroes dressed in black with mysterious powers who flirt is really romantic."

"Can't believe he forgot about Ladybug!"

"You're forgetting that you rejected him so many times in the past, he has a right to pursue someone else."

Marinette pulled her hair, there was nothing she could do if Master Fu found you valuable, the very least she could thank you for bringing Alya safe and sound. That is until her phone rang with notification of Adrien's profile.

As Marinette unlocked her phone she felt steam come out of her ears. There you were in a set of different pictures with Adrien, what hurt her the most was seeing Adrien truly happy.

Maybe it was time for her to also let Adrien go.


	31. Smacker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the fun comments, they really brighten my day ٩(◕‿◕)۶

Waking up the next day a bit earlier you shuffled through the small tote-bag you made for the soap and bath gift for Ms. Bustier. Looking through it everything seemed in place, even something extra was added from your parents.

Making your usual commute to the school, anxiety was bubbling inside with the fact of giving a gift to Ms. Bustier.

_ ''Maybe I should've gotten her a gift card to a spa or something...''  _ You twirled your hair as you absentmindedly entered the locker room to set away your stuff.

"Y/N what did you get Ms. Bustier!" Rose's cheery voice caught your attention. Looking closely it seems you stubbled upon people showing the gifts they prepared.

"I got her this tote-bag with some gifts that Nathaniel helped me pick out." Pulling the bag off your shoulder you lifted it up showing its content.

"Even Y/N got something for Ms. Bustier..." someone spoke a bit to softly but you paid no mind to it.

"Chloe just forgets birthdays as her mother does." Sabine announced, it made sense the off-hand comment you heard as a mere whisper.

"Chloe didn't forget, she's just bringing her gift later." You tried to disperse the hostility of the room. "Well, I'm heading to class see you guys later." Making your exit you heard someone say how Chloe had no heart, it made you curious why they would they ever think that.

The class went as normal until everyone started to shuffle their gifts apparently, you and Marinette had the same idea since both of the gifts revolved around skincare. Though you noticed something weird with the cosmetic bag.

"Umm Marinette, did you designed it like that?" You asked 

Suprised with your comment she went to expected closely.

"It was Chloé, she did this!" Marinette.

The whole class erupted in murmurs, from accusing Chloé of akumatizations to being worse than Hawkmoth. 

"It's still is a wonderful gift! Marinette let me speak to you for a moment..." Ms. Bustier's voice quieted all of the class as Alya was made in charge.

"I brought an extra gift if you want to give it to Ms. Bustier." You told Chloe who was trying not to pop a blood vessel from all the gossip. 

"I'll give her mine later, it's better to save the best for last!"

"I never thought about it that way, then I'm sure your gift is going to blow her way."

You noticed how Chloe chatted with you easily after reassuring her about her gift, or lack of thereof. Unbeknownst to you, Adrien was eavesdropping at the conversation, it wasn't hard to do so when everyone took the opportunity to go to other seats and talk about the Chloé incident.

"Dude, what's gotten you sour?" Nino asked his friend as he saw Adrien's brow wrinkle a bit. "Jealous?"

"N-no just trying to listen in, Y/N and I are a couple why would I be jealous? There was sadness laced in Adrien's tone, luckily Nino wasn't keen on catching his friend's tone.

"Well, I've heard that Y/n likes Chat No-"

The conversation was interrupted when a villain comes into the class and not long after so does Ladybug. Wanting to get a closer look at the villain you suddenly feel yourself be dragged out of the classroom amidst the confusion.

"Oi! I want to see this!" You protest tugging at the shirt of the person who's taking you to the lockerroom. Getting a closer look you see it, Adrien, with Chloé tailing along. "C'mon Adrien it's just a person nothing bad can happen, also hi Chloé." You waved at your other friend nonchalantly. 

"Y/N how can you be this calm?' Adrien asked and you just gave him a loopy smile. "Regardless I should keep the two of you safe."

Being safe meant getting stuck in lockers once more, as soon as there was an opportunity you decided to put on your Magpie gear and follow the hoard of kissing zombies. Though your current plan was detoured by your classmates that were debating over the situation.

"Let's just give Zombizou what she wants!" One of your classmates said.

"Chloe is always making others get akumatized, so it's a good point to hand her over!" Another of them said.

"You're only handing Chloe to me, for people who talk about being better than her it took all of you no second thought to handing her over." Your voice was distorted as you stood in front of Chloe as you shielded her from your class. 

"Magpie!" Nathaniel pointed out, causing everyone to whisper as to why such a vigilante would appear to help Chloe of all people.

"Did she buy you as a bodyguard?" Alya asks the phone always recording, you were really having second thoughts about that girl. "I heard that hitmen like you always sell off to the highest bidder."

"Why don't you hand over some money and find out?" You carry Chloe in your arms bridal-style as you kick open the door, "I'll be keeping you save for now miss."

"Y-yes!" Chloe stuttered it was cute coming from her, she stooks out her tongue to the rest of her class as she moves closer to your chest.

"Tell Chat Noir to meet us, he knows where, ciao!" You use your grappling hook to leave the premises of the school. "Sorry if it's a bit bumpy..." You told Chloe as you jumped from rooftop to rooftop.

"T-t-thank you for saving me," Chloe said in between yelps, "did my father pay you to save me?"

"Nah, you did me a solid so I thought I'd repay your kindness. Looks like we're here." You said as you spotted the Atlantique Garden, putting down Chloe you patrolled the area for any kissing zombies.

After 30 minutes of idly playing cards with Chloe did the two superheroes show up.

"Finally!" You state as you reveal your hand to Chloe who also does the same as she smiles for finally beating you, "Did you get lost kitten?"

"Did you really just leave everyone to their luck?" Ladybug asked resentfully as she pointed at the group of students they were able to save.

"The objective was Chloe, plus didn't they tell you they wanted to hand her over?" You scoffed, your classmates had guilt plastered all over their face but kept quiet about the whole ordeal, "Whatever, so what do you need?"

"We need to keep them safe, but walking isn't an option with all of the zombies." Chat Noir told you, hopefully, you'll help him and Ladybug out, he knew that Magpie was never one to resist helping if he asked.

"We can take a bus, maybe that one over there?" You pointed out, Chat Noir was quick to follow as he opened the door to usher everyone in, though there was a slight problem...

"There's no key, how are you going to drive the bus?" Ladybug teased your lack of hindsight, that is until she saw you tinker with some cables.

"Would you look at that..." You teased back at the heroine. Driving towards the destination you lost some of your classmates to the zombies, but that never once stopped you from driving nor stop Ladybug from yelling at you.

"If you keep this up I'm turning this bus back home!" You finally yelled everyone who survived finally stayed quiet as you drove to the Effiel Tower. Once at your destination you opened the front door and evacuated the passengers.

"I'm not leaving unless Magpie is my bodyguard!" Chloe protested, much to her classmates and the heroes' disapproval.

"I don't mind, may I escort the lady to safety?" You bowed to Chloe who skipped happily to your form. Taking Chloe back to your arms you heard some groans.

"No fair, how come she get's the royal treatment?" Chat Noir pouts cutely, his pout disappeared when you also carried Chat Noir in your arms. 

"Show off..." Ladybug commented as she leads the way with you behind, protecting the two blondes in your care.

Sadly the mission turned sour, losing Alya and Nino caused Ladybug to second guess herself. On the other hand, seeing them turn into zombies only made you sigh at how Nino stayed back to be with his girlfriend.

"And they say romance is dead, it's just a bit undead for the moment." You joked, earning a chuckle from Chloe.

"You're so funny!" Chloe playfully slapped your arm, it was nice to have her relaxed on such a high-stakes moment. 

Though you felt a bit bad when looking back to Chat Noir who was struggling to fight off the kissing zombies as you headed to Gustave Effiel's office, boy does the place bring memories.

"Looks like I've been hit..." You overhear Chat Noir tell Ladybug as you hide Chloe in the office. Not a moment later, Ladybug looks at you, never did you think she'll be the one to ask for your help.

"Destroy the object as you always do." You point out.

"I know that but how? The moment I get kissed she'll have me under her control!"

"Well I can't leave Chloe alone, Cat Noir might come after her the moment we leave to fight her..." You thought deeply of your outcomes, Zombizou was a long-ranged attacker, so the best thing to do was keep your distance. "Well bait her with Chloe, pull out your lucky charm, and defeat her."

Ladybug did as you asked, to your luck the lucky item for today's villain was makeup remover. Handing her some cloth she tied it to her yo-yo as the three of you made it to Zombizou.

Carrying Chloe while trying to avoid being kissed was stress-inducing, but fun enough to find a pattern on Zomizou's attack. 

"She needs to apply her lipstick to zombify us, aim at her lips." You told Ladybug mid-jump as you avoided another attack.

As Ladybug aimed at her objective, you kicked the lip balm from the villain and to Ladybug's hand. Breaking the object the akuma was released as you stared at the small creature fly without a worry in the world, it was short-lived as it was purified by Ladybug. Placing Chloe on the ground she apologized to Ms. Bustier as you smiled behind your vizor.

"Thanks for helping..." Ladybug said begrudgingly.

"No problem, I owed Chloe a favor for her help so we're even." Chloe owning up to her action made you realize that she could grow with the correct guidance and patience.

"Did you two make-up?" Chat Noir happily asked.

"I'm always for up for an alliance even if it's temporarily, I can take them back to school." You pointed to ears as you reminded the two of the heroes of their borrowed time.

"Thanks!" The two of them left to do their end of the bargain as you took the two back to where they belonged. 

As tomorrow came, you were amused by the interaction happening in front of the class. As you entered there stood both Alya and Chloe, bickering as usual.

"Hey, Chloe!" You made your way to the girl, "So what's on today's menu?"

"Alya is saying that I should apologize but they should be thanking me!" Chloe stated.

"As if, you had your own bodyguard!" 

"S-so what!" Chloe responded as she tried to hide her blush from Alya, "Magpie came to rescue but ended up helping you all in the end with Ladybug, if it wasn't for me we wouldn't have Ms. Bustier back.."

"She's right, thank you, Chloe!" Marinette intervenes as she takes her friend to their seat.

Going back to your seat you saw how Chloe lingered by the front desk, though what really picked your interest was to rumors of Chloe being saved by Magpie. Hopefully, you didn't accidentally create another rumor...


	32. First Dates

_ "For today's news, we have the new and mysterious addition to the superhero duo here in Paris! Could it be possible that Magpie is now part of the group? Did they finally bury the hatchet?" _ The anchorwoman gave more rhetorical questions to the camera, as much as you wanted to listen more on the speculations, Alix closed the app.

"I doubt Magpie is going to work with Ladybug..." Nathaniel added as he continued to sketch the vigilante, Alix, on the other hand, sighed as she surfed through her social media.

"You're not going to find anything, it seems like everyone is too busy with Magpie helping out." You told the girl as you gazed upon your friend's sketch, "So why are you so busy sketching Magpie?"

"Chloe commissioned me, she wanted a picture of her new hero." 

"I think she has a crush on Magpie, the way they came to save her and left all of us is a big tale-tell sign." Alix's teasing tone caused you to laugh, "How does it feel to have your hero love Paris' most annoying person?"

"I don't mind, Magpie knows what they're doing..." Nathaniel's pencil didn't waiver, you shrugged at Alix.

"But maybe Chat Noir likes Magpie... could it be... a love triangle?" Alix asked you as you tried to stifle your giggles, " Damn, Y/n does that mean you're in a love... is it a love square?"

"How am I even involved?" You asked.

"You like Chat Noir... scratch that you have a huge crush with him, does Adrien know?" 

"Y/n just likes blonds." Nathaniel came to your defense, everyone and their mother knew you were with Adrien, but only these two knew how much of a Chat Noir fan you were. 

Alix huffed as she tried to pry more information out of you, it was comical how she was trying to involve herself in your love life. Her prying was short-lived when you received an incoming video call from your fake boyfriend.

"Hey, Adrien what's up?" You answered as you tried to push your friend away from the camera.

"Oh I just wanted to chat with you," Adrien told you bashfully, that is until he noticed when you were hit by a random pillow, "Am I interrupting something?"

"Not much, ouch..." You told him as you stabilized your hold on your phone, eventually, you invited Alix to join you in the video call. "We're just hanging out at Alix's room."

"Yup and Y/n is being a butt. I keep asking her is she thinks Chloe likes Magpie since she's the only person Chloe speaks to other than Sabrina." Alix added her two cents, her innocent comment made Adrien drop his gaze, it didn't help how Alix justified how Chloe only spent time with you than with the rest of the class.

"And I keep telling Alix that whoever Chloe likes is none of our problem, how would you like it if people kept asking you about your love life?" You rebutted your friend who was now debating with you over the right of privacy.

Adrien watched as you tried to level with Alix on the opposing points. Were you always this good of a debater? The more the debate continued he started to worry about the possibility of you experiencing intense emotions.

"Y/n?" Adrien interrupted your debate, he was relieved when he saw your eyes focused on him

"Yes, love?" Your innocent response earned you a pinch from Alix as she teased you for the endearing pet name.

"Get a room!" Alix got up and retreated to another place in her room.

"Adrien is in his room and I'm in yours." Your teasing did not go unnoticed as your friend stuck her tongue out on you. " I believe I'm being bullied for having a boyfriend..."

"W-well you can let me face Alix and I can protect you..." Adrien stammered.

"Better yet why don't you take Y/n on a date? Careful she might be more interested in her food than you." 

"Y'know a date sounds mighty well, maybe I should go over and play some videogames with my boyfriend."

Your prodding reminded Adrien when he fought alongside you when you were Ladybird, and here you are again employing the same tactics but this time for him to come to your rescue.

"I'll set up the snacks, think you'll take long to come over?"

"I can make it in 10, see you in a bit." You ended the call as you packed your items, though you had a feeling that you'll never hear the end of your friend's teasing when you saw her the next day. That's a problem for another day, for now, you had a date to attend.

\---------------------------------------------------

"Do you think she prefers macaroons or is she more of tiramisu type of girl?" Adrien asked Plagg as he placed all of the treats the maids brought for the impromptu date.

"Hopefully she's more of a cheese girl..." Plagg's face scrunched as he saw the lack of his favorite snack as an option.

Before Adrien could tell Plagg that you were most definitely a dessert person a knock came to his door.

"Y/n is here..." Nathalie announced as she opened the door.

"Woah!" You face was full of wonder as you saw the different plates spread on the table, "I was just expecting some energy drinks and chips but you brought cake."

"Do you not like it?" Adrien tried to steel his nerves, were you really a cheese girl like Plagg said?

"Do I like it? I love it!" You sat on the sofa as you patted the place next to you. Adrien quickly followed as he took a seat, being by your side felt natural by this point. "Nathalie, are you going to join us as well?"

"Mr. Agreste wants me to be the chaperone of his son's first date, I'm sorry that this was the best we could do." 

"Nonsense, come join us." 

Nathalie stayed with the two of you for a few hours, even after playing the same game with Adrien she never once made conversation. Eventually, she did excuse herself to attend to some businesses she left unattended.

"Don't be alarmed but I think she went to tell your father how we just spent the whole afternoon playing the same game..." You whispered to Adrien, his loss of focus allowed you to give his character a finishing blow.

"That was rather unromantic wasn't it?" Adrien apologized, he knew his father wanted you to be more than a rumor, yet he still felt that asking you to take part in this fake relationship was more out of compassion than out of actual love. He already suffered from Ladybug's constant rejection, adding yours would definitely make it worse.

"Your father is just a worrywart, come!" You pull Adrien to his feet and hand him a bag. "Change into this, we leave in 5."

Adrien look dumbfoundedly inside the bag, what in the world were you planning?

・‥…━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━…‥・

"Ah, tourists! How may I help you?" The waiter asked the couple who were wearing face masks, one of them had a beanie and the other had a baseball cap. 

"We'll like the meat sampler..." A feminine voice came from the person with the baseball cap.

"Would you like assistance in cooking the meat?" 

"No, I'll be cooking for my partner."

As the waiter left, the person under the beanie began to lower his face mask.

"Hold on..." The girl with the baseball cap lower the blinds in front of the table, "Lot's of customers who prefer private settings come here."

"Have I told you that you're really skillful?" The boy with the beanie said, upon taking off his beanie and mask he revealed his face. If this was any other place Adrien would be swarmed with cameras, but you always found a way for him to avoid such gaze. "So how did you find such a place?"

"You'd be surprised by the need for privacy in the translation business."

When the waiter came back with the meat and side dishes, never once did he lift the blinds. When he left you put the meats on the grill and looked back at Adrien, though it was like any other restaurant you frequented in your travels it was a common sight for him.

"Do you want to cook the meat?" You asked the bewildered boy as you passed him his bowl of rice.

"I'm afraid I'll burn it..."

"Nonsense, I'll still eat it if you burned it." Offering the tongs, he took it gently and flipped the meat on the grill.

"Okay so now you pick the meat you want and in it goes!" You whisper happily to Adrien and take a pick from the different side dishes you have spread on the table.

"I've never had the opportunity to eat with someone like this, the other time was with your family and even then I barely spoke. What I'm trying to say is that it's not often I get to eat with someone my age..."

"We're similar in that regard, though I sometimes wonder if my dad is a kid in a man's body." Your remark caused Adrien to chuckle, "Eat to your heart's content and speak it as well, no holding back from either of us."

"No secrets?"

"Unless they're life-threatening, for example, if I were to rob a bank and then leave to a deserted island then I might not tell you. Everyone has secrets, what's a few between couples?"

"Couples..." Adrien's mouth turned dry, could this be a good opportunity to tell you about his feelings?" Y/n... I have something to tell you."

"You want more meat and veggies?" You innocently as you put more pickled veggies on his bowl.

"I... like you!" Adrien's voice was high pitched, he was thankful that the restaurant was bustling with energy so that no one would turn to your table as he confessed.

"Do y-you m-mean a-a-as a friend?" Real smooth, of course, he only likes you as a friend.

"I know we started as a fake couple but I really do like you as more than a friend. That's why you also need to know that I'm-" 

You set down your bowl, the sudden action caused Adrien to bite his tongue. Did his confession make you angry? Would you play it off as Ladybug did in the past? It wasn't until he felt soft lips meet his own that he realized that you were kissing him across the table.

"I like you too, not only as Adrien but as Chat Noir as well..." You whispered sweetly to his ear before pecking his cheek and returning to your seat.

"How did you know? How long have you known?"

"I have known of your identity for a while, it was an accident really. Remember that magpie you use as a paperweight? It has never revealed to the public."

"Then that means, you're..."

"The one an only, it's a pleasure meeting you! Now eat up before the restaurant closes."

Adrien couldn't believe his eyes, the girl he's infatuated with not only likes him back but she's Paris most wanted icon.


	33. Cathedral

"When you said you'd tell me everything I thought it would be different..." Chat Noir pouted at his companion who was relaxing on top of the Notre Dame with him.

"Better see it with your eyes, plus I think churches are relaxing." You told him, "We needed a new meeting point after all that zombie fiasco."

"At least you didn't give me a riddle this time," Chat Noir moved his hand towards yours, holding it gently as he traced patterns on the gloves. "So how did it start?"

"An orphan helps two thieves hide, after that the orphan is adopted and becomes part of a family." You sigh happily, meeting your parents was the best memory you had when you were young. Even to this day your father and mother often tell you how the real treasure they stole that day was you, though they still bicker who was the dumb one to step into the sensor.

"Sounds like a fairy tale..."

"More like a detective-noir, no pun intended." 

"You'll never reach pun-tastic levels like me, that's the natural talent you have to be born with."

"Har har," You wished you could stick your tongue at him, instead you gave him a noogie for such a low-grade pun. "What about you? How did this all happen?"

"I found a ring and then Plagg gave me instructions, oh yeah you don't know about him!" Chat Noir explained, to think there were things that modern science couldn't describe was astounding. "Now our current goal is Hawkmoth."

"Good luck with that, even after like a year of you being a hero he's stayed hidden." 

"That's where you come in!" Chat exclaimed, his outburst caused you to lift your upper body to look at him.

"How am I going to help?"

"We're going to catching, as a team and as a couple."

"I doubt Ladybug is going to help, even if it is for the greater good. I should stay out of it, you guys were given those powers for a reason and I shouldn't be added in the equation." You lay down on his chest, catching an unknown villain sounded troublesome. If a superhero couldn't get to him then how is a thief going to get close? There were too many factors in play, more importantly, there was Chat's civilian identity in play. 

"B-but we need someone of your skills, no one has been able to elude us for so long even with no powers you're more difficult that Hawkmoth." Chat played with your hair, what was plaguing your mind to the point you wouldn't help him? 

"Listen, I want to help, believe me, I do but your life could change in an instant if something goes wrong. It's not simple, a life where you're always on the run..."

Chat Noir held you tight, he understood your hesitation, you were afraid of leaving your life in Paris. How many times have you started over in other parts of the world? Where was the last place you called home?

"I'll help as an uninvited guest, you'll have to save the world on your own buddy." You finally break the silence and feel Chat's body tense up, "If there's anything I'm good as is stealing items."

"Then where should we start?"

"Hold on, I'm going to need my payment."

"Yeah sure, how much?"

"I'd like those fake diamonds they were selling when we were at the mall the other day."

"I'm not committing a crime if that's what you're asking."

"I'd never ask you to steal anything for me!" You protest, giving him a playful smack, that's when you halted your movements and looked at Chat Noir wide-eyed. "That's it!"

"What is it? Am I it?" Chat flirted with you, though it was ineffective as he saw you ponder something in your head. "Earth to Y/n..."

"I have a plan... but it a bit complicated. It's on a know-to-know basis, and you're one lucky cat." Giving him a kiss on the cheek you skedaddle out away from the roof of Notre Dame, "You'll get a call from Ladybug in a few, I'm sure she won't hesitate to lock me up after this stunt."

Chat Noir was stunned, but if he received a kiss every time he saw a spark of mischief in your eyes then by all means steal to your heart's content.


	34. Late Night Escapades

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta-dah (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧. Feel free to remind me to update, I tend to forget about things due to school.

"Come here little diamond..." You wiggled your fingers as you leaned into the case, it was the last set you needed to complete the mission. On the corner of your eye, you saw how the manager was twisting his body is he slept. The extraction was going smoothly until you pulled out your arm to catch the yo-yo directed at you. "Careful with that, you could trigger the security system!"

"Hand them over!" Ladybug growled at your teasing tone. Her night was going pleasantly until the police called about a possible break-in in the mall. Lo and behold she was right when she believed that only someone this reckless could be you.

"Magical words?" You tease as you twirled the string of the bag of diamonds around your finger.

"Now!" Ladybug hurled her weapon once more, you dodged the projectile and stepped on the string.

"Lower your voice, you're going to wake up the manager with all of your commotions. Plus, I still need to pick up some shoes and clothes." 

"As if I'm letting you get away!" Ladybug pulled at her string, but it only hindered her capture.

"Catch me if you can!" You yell as you trigger the alarm, slipping away you saw how the metal bars manifested from the ceiling and caging the heroine in front of your eyes.

"You little..." Ladybug didn't have time to finish her curse when she saw you take a picture with your phone.

"I'm going to tag this as... the most precious gem I caught in the evening." You tell the girl as you upload it to Instagram, not a second later did you have people comment on the picture. "I'm finally joining these influencer things you kids talk about, it's pretty fun!"

"You're not getting away!"

"Oh? How are you going to get me if I'm over here, outside of the bars?"

You gave one last laugh an got out of the store, your job here was done, or so you hoped when you bumped into a firm chest on your way to grab the limp body.

"Are you looking for some furniture for your nest birdie?" Chat Noir's usual flirtatious tone would have you swooning for him anytime, that is until you heard Ladybug gag.

"Not this time my kitten." You retorted, Ladybug made sure that you heard her fake vomit. 

"Stop flirting with Magpie and help me!" Ladybug protested, it was the first time she had to yell at her partner for help. Usually, Chat would run to her at any given moment but this time it was different.

"I'd love to stay and help but I have someone I need to escort, ciao!" You gently pushed past Chat Noir and grabbed the sleeping body as you invaded capture.

You continued running as you carried the body, it was until you felt the manager shift did you stop your movements. 

"Don't try anything funny or else I'm throwing you to the Seine!" Your gruff voice paralyzed the man.

"P-please, I have a family and kids!" The men begged.

"Pfft! If I had a gold bar for every time one of you pigs used that excuse, I'd be rich by now."

"Tell me your price!"

"Now we're getting somewhere, I'll let you go on one condition."

"Anything!" 

You began to move, this was going to be a fun late-night escapade for everyone in Paris.

  
・‥…━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━…‥・

Mr. Agreste was currently in his atelier as he looked over his designs for Paris fashion week. What would be a calm evening turn chaotic when Nathalie quickly entered.

"Mr. Agreste, you have to see the news!" Nathalie held her tablet for the man to see, "I was watching the news when an interruption happened, and it's being live-streamed as we speak."

Mr. Agreste's eyes stared intently as Nadia Chamack became a small screen that was detailing how the Parisian TV stations began to get hacked to show Magpie's logo.

"Alright, speak..." Magpie's characteristically pulled the sack off the man who shivered as the wind hit his face.

"I have committed a fraud, my company has been trading fake diamonds for years..." The man said between sobs, detailing all of his crimes as well as telling how he sold them to important buyers in the fashion world.

"That rat!" Mr. Agreste slammed his hand on the table, he had been a buyer of this man for his next production line, now his reputation was on the line. 

"Now everyone, I have created a document about this man's actions on my webpage. Have a wonderful night, don't let the bed bugs bite!"

Mr. Agreste's phone rang at that moment, it was a message from an unknown number. He was going to ignore it until he saw how Magpie's logo appeared on the screen.

"Incoming message: You're entitled to economic compensation based on this article!" A little avatar of a Magpie spoke, "For more information, visit our site!"

"Nathalie phone our lawyers now!" Mr. Agreste was not willing to look like a fool again, his assistant left the office. He clicked on the webpage, he was expecting it to be just another crappy website, but what caught his eye was the second publication. "The most precious gem?" He saw the photo of a Ladybug behind bars, he smiled, it was nice seeing his enemy be cornered in a way he wished he could do. 

Perhaps he'll need to do more research on Magpie.


	35. Unfamiliarity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (*•̀ᴗ•́*)و ̑̑ Bam, surprise chapter!
> 
> Also, would you guys be interested in a fic that has weird upload schedules? Sometimes I just write different fic centered on different types of MC/Reader, mostly because it gives me enough inspiration to make a series on it. I'd love to hear what you guys think! (*´∀`*)

"I hope he rots in jail!" Luka read out loud the messages from Magpie's website, "Geez, some people really want this guy dead..." Not even the trial was safe from the public eye.

"Didn't you want to buy a gift for Y/n that store?" Ivan asked his friend, everyone in Kitty Section was taking a break from practice so making conversation what the usual conversation.

"Ivan!" Mylene interjected, along with the other girls who were part of the band.

"I-it's okay guys..." Luka tried to calm the girls down, they all knew of his crush towards you, not that he did a good job hiding it. The only person who didn't know about his crush was you, you treated him like a normal person every time he tried to speak with you.

"I wonder if Y/n will come back to the band now that her contract is over." Ivan thought out loud.

"I really hope so..." Luka said to himself. He wanted to hope that your relationship with Adrien would end in the upcoming days, it was common for celebrity couples to do so when contracts ended. Not to mention most tabloids have recently written on how Adrien started to drift away from you in the job place. Even your Instagram gave the idea of a possible split.

"The gossip channels have betted on a possible break up, not to mention Y/n and Adrien barely talk or go on dates." Rose commented to Juleka.

"Looks like you guys are way too relaxed, lets continue the practice." Luka spoke, he wanted to focus on the upcoming gig and prove that he too has a talent and hopefully gain your attention.

・‥…━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━…‥・

"I'm starting to think you're avoiding me on purpose..." Adrien spoke from your door frame, you haven't been going to school the past few days and he was getting worried. He tried calling your parents but it always led straight to voicemail.

"I've been doing some favors..." You didn't look up from your computer screen and kept typing, that is until Adrien turned your seat so you could face him.

"Y/n, is this because of what they have written about me and this other model?"

"Huh?" Your brows knitted in confusion, you never paid attention to tabloids and his question honestly confused you to a point where your brain blanked.

"I pushed her away but it looked like it was an embrace..." Adrien began to explain about all the misunderstandings that the media has used to explain your sudden disappearance.

"Hold on!" You pause Adrien in midsentence as he spoke about the other things that you might've misunderstood due to his work and sponsorships. "I had other jobs lined up, I could care less about what you did with other models because of your work."

"Is that it..." Adrien said as he saw you turn around and continue your typing, after all these weeks not seeing you it seemed you weren't moved as he was. "Then why didn't you answer my calls or texts?"

"As I said, I've been busy trying to get information for what you asked of me." Your tongue stuck out as you continue to type out keywords, "My cousin developed this program, but I had to pay the price of doing her jobs..." You pulled up the news on your other monitor so Adrien could see what you were up to.

"You could've just answered my texts..." Adrien was a bit peeved, you were his girlfriend and communication was important to him. You promised that he'll be in the loop if he became your partner in crime, yet here you were keeping your secrets.

"Can't have my location be pinged, what if I piss off the wrong person and they put a bounty on my head?" 

You wanted to say more, you couldn't hide behind superpowers as Adrien could. Not mention you had broken the first rule of your family's code of conduct with forming an alliance with Adrien who upheld the idea of saving Paris from harm while you willingly made chaos. If anything you were trying to keep him out of harm's way out of fear he might leave or disapprove of your heists.

"I brought you the school notes," Adrien pulled his notebooks, "I can help you with the test we have tomorrow."

"That can wait, I'm not going to school for a couple of days."

"Why is that? If I may know that is."

You blinked and turned to face him, you knew that tone he was using it was the same one people use when they're angry about a situation.

"What are you implying?" Your voice was calm, you haven't slept for the last few days as you did heists and pulled strings with your family members, and here is your boyfriend being passive-aggressive.

"We hardly have seen each other and now that you're here you won't go to school!"

"You act as if we never see each other, we saw each other a week ago and here we are together." You were confused, did he not want to spend time with you? 

"That's the point, we should spend more time together as normal couples do."

"I see, sorry for being a bad girlfriend..." You muttered. Were you angry? Not quite, you were mostly peeved that Adrien didn't understand the situation. You turned to your computer once more and saved your files. "Do you want to do something these upcoming days? I'm basically waiting for your father to finish paying my part of the contract. "

"Oh..." Adrien had a bitter taste in his tongue when he thought about the contract, that day you promised to protect him even from his father. Part of him still thinks you did it out of pity or that his father had a hand on you accepting the relationship.  _ "She did say that the rich were a force to be reckoned with..." _ He thought to himself.

"I should really copyright my image, your father wanted to extend the contract but I'm getting bored of the flash." You sent a message to your cousin, he should be able to end the contract on your behalf. "So what do you want to do together?" You looked at his notebooks and began copying, hopefully, he'll be in a better mood once he's thought of an activity to do.

"Let's see.." Adrien smiled, it looked like he got through you.

_ "I guess you don't know someone until you date them..." _ You thought as you scribbled. Hopefully, this was a hurdle, you never dated anyone much less someone rich.

Funny, your whole family was rich, but 90% of the money is always used to help those in need. Anything stolen was used to help those who suffered from greed, it was the number one rule and no one has broken it. Maybe that's why you couldn't understand Adrien that well, sure he had everything from birth and he only lacked friends. Unlike him you had to prove your worth, it was common to do so in your family, it allowed everyone to shine based on their talents and worked to minimize their weakness. 

_ "My weakness..." _ You scrunched your nose as you thought about it, your weakness was a simple one you were asocial to a fault. That's why you spent hours upon hours memorizing signs of emotions in many ways, what was once your weakness proved to be your greatest strength. Though humans are social creatures, you only liked the company of your family, they were unconditional unlike other types of relationships people built in society.

"I can't think of a place we could go without being bombarded with cameras." Adrien resigned, it was bad enough he had to hide but now it was as if Paris was waiting for the two of you to appear. 

"I'm sure we can think of something..."

"Well as long as it's with us together."

"Y-yeah..."

"Though, I'd consider seeing you at school good enough for a date."

"Let's get back to studying, you said there's a test tomorrow."

You opened your book and began to read, how odd, you liked Adrien but right now his presence felt overbearing. Silently you thanked the teacher who made there to be a test tomorrow, they saved you from a possibly awkward conversation.

_ "Relationships are too complicated..." _ Your inner voice said, you shook your head and decided to focus instead, you'll cross that bridge when you get to it, that is if you don't burn it beforehand.


	36. Catharsis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hola! Gracias a los parlantes españoles, sus palabras son muy alentadoras con este fic. Es bonito ver que una historia que yo escribí traspaso tantas barreras lingüísticas para que otros lo puedan disfrutar. 
> 
> Hey guys, I'm thinking of making multiple endings depending on what you guys want. You can pick which type of ending you want in the poll. So if you guys would like multiple endings then feel free to pick your option. See ya guys later! (◍•ᴗ•◍)❤

"Not waiting for Adrien today?" Your mother asked.

"Am I that obvious?" You cringed a bit, you were sneaking around in your own house and got caught by your mother of all people.

"Y/n, you only avoid people when you're tired of them."

"..." You pouted, she wasn't scolding you but her observation did make you think about your actions. "H-how did you do it... to be in a relationship with dad?"

"Well it wasn't easy, he called me the Ice Queen while I called him Spock."

"Dad is a big nerd, sometimes I call him Hal 9000."

"That's a good one!" Your mother laughs, she had a sweet laugh and it always made you feel protected. "Though what really sealed the deal was when his character took a blow. for mine when we were playing DnD, we won with our combined strengths. After that, we started to hang out more and eventually became a couple after years of friendship."

"Wow, you guys really are nerds..."

"I'm not saying that love is the same, everyone loves differently. Our relationship shouldn't be a standard, ask yourself what you want, and what you value. If the person likes you then they'll be able to understand and come to a compromise, but don't forget to never lose yourself in the process."

"Not lose myself?" You repeated your mother's words, "Thanks mom!" You gave her a hug, she returned it while cooing at your actions.

"Now scurry along before Adrien gets here, I'll update your dad as well."

"You're the best!" You yelled as you walked towards the door. 

As you walked towards school your mind ran in circles, your mother essentially said to be true to yourself. Easier said than done when most of your identity in society revolved around Adrien. You wanted to be just Y/n L/n, not Y/n that's associated with something else.

" _ Are you really going out with Adrien? Or are you just with him out of pity/contract?"  _ Luka's text haunted your thoughts, maybe he was right. Mr. Agreste asked you to be his son's companion before he used the speculation around your relationship with his son to boost his social capital.  _ "Maybe I just wanted to help him..." _

You turned away from your usual route to school, the test will have to wait. 

_ "Maybe I just wanted to help him..." _

Pulling out your phone you checked if your cousin answered, thankfully he was able to end the contract and copyright your image.

_ "He was really trying to use an exception clause to keep you under his thumb, I'm a second away from targeting this man." _ You smiled, he was the next successor on the fashion branch of your family. He had always disliked unfair contracts and model exclusivity, when you mentioned the contract he didn't think twice before slam-dunking Mr. Agreste.

_ "I appreciate it, I'll send you the completed gadgets by the end of the week." _ You hit send and continue your walk, you were sure you were aimlessly walking but that didn't seem like the case when a familiar view caught your eye.

"They do say that rivers and oceans ease the mind..." You spoke to yourself, eyes never leaving the Liberty. If only you could swim in the Seine... you sat by the river bank looking down at the waves.

"Y/n?" Luka's voice entered your ears. As you looked at him you saw how his brow furrowed when he caught sight of your face. "What's bothering you?"

"Do I look bothered?" You ask genuinely as you lift your hands to your face. There was no trace that you had a bothered expression, you tilted your head and looked at the boy once more, perhaps he could provide answers.

"Your eyes say something is bothering you..." Luka took a seat next to you. He saw how you pulled a small mirror and examined your eyes, even when you were confused you still looked cute.

"My eyes look the same." Though you stated the answer, it didn't sound like you were 100% sure.

"Its usual beauty is still there, but it looks cloudy."

"I've got some problems, people problems to be exact."

"Does this have to do with the gossip magazines?" Luka threaded lightly, last time he was too direct and it ended with the two of you not speaking.

"Nah, I don't even read fashion magazines I'm in much less gossip columns.

"Then are you having problems with your parents?"

"Nope, they're really nice."

There was a long pause, it was pleasant, when was the last time you could sit with someone and stay silent? It used to happen with Adrien, but he kept bugging you about the nature of the relationship when he was the one to ask your help.

"Don't you feel that sometimes when you're friends with someone you are fond of them to a fault? But then you're close with them and they're not like you expected?" You laid on you back and looked at the clouds. Perhaps you were Icarus and Adrien was your sun.

"All that glitters isn't told..."

"... so often you have been told..."

Luka smiled, you finished his sentence and that was a win in his book."

"Aren't you going to school?" Your voice broke him out of his reverie, though you couldn't tell because your eyes were focused on the puffy clouds up in the sky.

"It's not worth going when my friend is clearly going through stuff."

"Does being your friend come with sad ice cream feasts?"

"Anything for you." Luka said as he got up and offered his hand.

You looked at his hand, you took it without a doubt. They do say that when you had a secret, you should make two holes, one for the secret and the second for the person keeping it.

So far, it seemed that you and the secret are going to stay in the same hole.


	37. Squabble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yahoo! A chapter is completed. now back to writing more for this fic (•̀ᴗ•́)و ̑̑

"Do you think they'll break-up? I hope they break-up, they're really not compatible in the slightest." Marinette rambled to Alya, the day was young and she had a lot of points as to why you're not a good candidate for her Adrien. She even made a list of what your PR team might use as a justification for the break-up.

"Not to burst your bubble, but Y/n has gone farther in a relationship with Adrien that you have."

"What do you mean? I already planned ou-"

"In reality, Y/n has done more in reality than you have in your daydreams." Alya reinstated, unlike her friend who has made a fantasy of their mutual classmate she was more realistic about what could happen.

"Th-that's not true!" 

Alya sighed, it was going to be a long day, and Marinette started with the first point on her list.

・‥…━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━…‥・

Outside of the front steps, Adrien waited for you. Unless you sneaked in, that's a possibility.

"Yo dude!" Nino caught Adrien's attention, "It's weird not seeing Y/n next to you, you guys are always attached to the hip."

"She said she was coming, maybe she's late?"

"It's Y/n, she's like a Swiss clock!"

"You're right..." Adrien couldn't think at the time you were late to school, if anything you were always an hour early.

"I'm going to guess," Nino faked to be deep in thought, "you guys had a fight?"

"What?! No, we did not have a fight!"

"No girl avoids their boyfriend unless she's angry at them. C'mon, tell me what you guys talked about and we'll see if she's angry or not."

"Fine, I'll tell you but I'll so so as we go to class."

"Lead the way then!"

・‥…━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━…‥・

"And then he said: 'Why is that? If I may know that is?' Like he makes it sound like I'm the problem when all I've done is help him lie and be there for him!" You say as you close the third empty tub of ice cream.

"Wow, he sounds insecure about your relationship with him..." Luka had to push down his jealousy, here you were raiding his ice cream supply while you ranted about Adrien. If _he_ was _your boyfriend_ he wouldn't be that jealous, you never flirted with anyone so why was Adrien giving you hard time.

"Now I'm insecure that he's insecure. Did I screw up? Is he like a high-maintenance child?!"

Luka broke into a laugh, a hearty laugh. Who would've thought you would bad mouth Adrien, then again he did hear from Juleka, who was told by Alix that you didn't find Adrien that appealing when you first met him. Deep down he was another hopeful hear that perhaps you'll break up with the blond.

"If Shakespeare were alive, he'd just make this into a comedy, no romance needed just skip to the ending!" You laughed with Luka, it was nice to have someone laugh at your misfortune, it made it seem like a small deal. 

"Y'know what, I know what I need to do!" You proudly announced, you went to grab your phone but Luka quickly snatched it.

"Hold on!" Luka stated. "You should tell him face-to-face, it's just wrong if you break-up via text."

"Oh, I was just going to order more junk-food." You slump down on your seat, "I'm not a coward, I rather do things face-to-face..."

"Sorry for jumping to conclusions... though I know a good place for ice cream if you want to go that is..."

Luka was taken aback when you stood up with such force he felt the Liberty sway.

"C'mon 'cmon' cmon!" Your voice was full of energy as you pulled the blue-haired teen off of his seat. 

Luka smiled, he was really glad he was patient enough for you to take the first step.

・‥…━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━…‥・

"Just tell, Alya what you told me!" Nino motioned to his unamused girlfriend, she already had her hands full with Marinette's break-up conspiracies, and adding Adrien's love problems was another tough job. At this point she should be charging these two for giving out advice. Her unamused facee slowly turned into one of seriousness as she hear Adrien recall the story.

"You said what?!" Alya was livid, sure she and you didn't get along but Adrien didn't have to be passive-aggressive with you.

"You screwed up..." Nino commented when he saw the confused expression his friend gave him.

"See, why can Y/n just show that's she's angry like Alya does?" 

"Listen, Adrien, when has Y/n ever showed her emotions?" Alya questioned, she saw how his imaginary light-bulb turned on. "Exactly, and when she did open what did she say?"

"She said..." Adrien bit his lip, the first time you opened up was when you were crying over keeping up with your peers. The second time you said how you were always running, you were always running and never in one place. You liked the instability, running from place to place with no-strings-attached. "I screwed up... How do I fix it?"

"I don't want to be a part of this." Alya shook her hands, Marinette would have her executed if she found out she was helping the enemy.

Adrien and Nino were trying to convince Alya, she didn't budge for a second. On the corner of her eye, she saw a girl with blue hair walk towards her.

"Adrien, Y/n messaged me saying that she will be taking a sabbatical." Kagami told the blond. 

"Ask her, she seems to know!" Alya motioned to Kagami.

"Ask me what?"

"I screwed up with Y/n, and I have no idea how to fix it."

"Oh!" Kagami blinked, "I don't think I should help you, Y/n is my friend."

"Please?"

"Sure..." Kagami sighed, as much as she hoped for the two of you to break up she didn't want to lose your friendship. Though a small voice in the back of her head did keep chanting that all is fair in love and war.


	38. Sundae Special

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still alive and writing! Chapters might become short, mostly since I started to tutor at my school. I still love reading the comments, they make me smile and laugh, I'm glad everyone is enjoying something I made! See ya next week! “φʕ•ᴥ•oʔ

"Careful, if you put more gummy bears they might have to war with the cookie dough." Luka teased, eyes never leaving your face as he saw your eyes squint as you gave out a laugh. 

"My bet is that the gummy bears are going to be consumed by the caramel." You carefully put the bowl of ice cream to be weighted.

"30 Euros..." The cashier was not amused, it was comforting to know you weren't the only wacko who's done such a stunt.

By the time you paid, you quickly scurried to the closest table and waited for Luka to get the receipt. 

"Dude, I don't think your girlfriend is going to eat all of that." The cashier motioned to you as he gave Luka the utensils.

"She's full of surprises."

"Lucky guy..."

Luka thanked the cashier, striding towards you he handed you a spoon. He was confused when he didn't see you take a bite.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

"You got to take the first bite!"

"Why?"

"Good question, I really don't know. But if I had to guess it's because I ate all of your ice cream at home."

Luka was about to protest when he felt a spoonful of ice cream invade his mouth. With your other hand, you grabbed the spoon and proceeded to eat the icy delight.

"Brain-freeze..." You said in between bites.

Your happiness was short-lived, as a woman blocked Luka from your view. Putting the spoon in your mouth, you tilted your head and stared at a young bright-eye lady.

"E-excuse me, are you Y/n L/n? I work for the Paris Couture and I'd like to ask you some questions." The journalist pulled a chair and sat by the side of the table. "So it is true that you and Adrien are breaking up?"

"You misunderstand, Y/n is helping me with a song." Luka quickly interjected, all he wanted was for you to relax and not think about Adrien.

"Then why come to a popular dating spot with a boy who's not her boyfriend?"

"Miss, this is an ice cream parlor. Last time I checked anyone could do as they pleased." You pointed your spoon at the journalist, "Plus I thought I sent all of the big-name companies that if they do try to interview me or approach me when I'm not working they will receive a fine."

"Y-yes, but..." The lady was in a loss of words, "If you give me an interview then I will not post the picture of you on this 'date'...

"Post the picture, once you do that you'll never have a career in journalism ever again." You waved her off, paparazzi were stubborn but you were more stubborn.

"Then, you give me an interview. Tell me why you're friends with Y/n?" The lady turned to Luka, she was set on getting any info. "Unless he's also off-limits?"

"He's his own person."

"Then, what's your name, age, and the nature of your relationship with Y/n L/n?" The woman pulled out her phone and began the recording. 

Luka looked between the woman and you, he was debating if he should indulge the woman who was trying to get on your nerves.

"May I ask what's this article about?" Luka finally asked clearing his throat.

"We're trying to see what makes Y/n popular among teens, and you fit the demographic. If it makes you feel better, you could leave the information of your name out of this interview."

"If I answer your questions, will you leave us alone?"

"Yes!"

"Alright... what are the questions?"

"Why do teens like you find Y/n attractive?"

"Wh-hat?" Luka was dumbstruck, "I guess because she's like a normal girl, she's also very down to earth."

"Would you say that you'd date Y/n?"

"She has a boyfriend, you shouldn't ask that when a person has a significant other."

"It's a simple question, yes or no?"

"You don't have to answer it..." You grab the phone of the journalist, after a few taps you make it have a system restart. "You're not a journalist, you have an Adrien fan-page."

"N-no I d-don't!"

"Do you guys really want me to break up with your idol?" You look at the uncomfortable girl, why did she want it to end badly enough for her to lie of her work?

"W-well, you're just a gold digger. You started as his tutor, meaning you abused the trust he had on you."

"Oh..." You look at her blankly, should you tell her it started as a fake relationship and how Mr. Agreste was the one who was using you?

"Just oh? This is why people dislike you, you look down at us!"

"Alright, alright, don't bust a vein on my ice cream bowl. Listen just live your life and don't worry about me or who I'm with. But... as Adrien's friend, I don't want you to make him sad." You handed her phone as you looked away from her. Just like the first time Adrien was used as a bargaining chip, the same feeling of protecting him came over you. 

"Fine..." the lady left, she looked defeated as she exited the parlor.

You kept eating the ice cream, though it didn't help you fill the void like it did before the lady came to the table.

"Y/n... you're a really thoughtful person." Luka told you as he put a cherry on your spoon. "Adrien is lucky to have someone like you."

"No, I don't deserve him..." Some tears began to stain your face, you weren't sobbing but the tears still fell down. 

Your body flinched when you felt Luka wipe away the tears off your face, why was he so caring when all you've done is push him away? Maybe it was in his nature to be this caring.

"Luka... am I a bad girlfriend?" 

Luka stayed silent, you were being open to him and asking his opinion. But what kind of advice could he give to a girl he likes but she likes someone else?

"I think, that... maybe you should take it slow. You certainly like Adrien enough to be in a relationship with him. Maybe it's just all the rumors, just don't pay attention."

"Thanks, for bearing with me and my problems."

"There's no other play I will rather be than by your side."

You pushed some cookie dough onto his spoon, his smile made you look away due to embarrassment. Maybe your mom was right, it's the little things someone does that makes you love them.

If someone were to ask you what you think of Luka you'd tell him he's the best person to spend every waking moment with.


	39. Carper: Of Theatre and Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Halloween the 1st, October is my favorite month so I'm giddier than usual. Therefore here's an extra update for being patient with me ೕ(•̀ㅂ•́ ).
> 
> Speaking of October, would you like to see Halloween/October related prompts for ML? Is so let me know through the request form!

Adrien spent that afternoon looking contemplating on the advice his friends gave him. Alya had advised him to apologize, though he was thorn about facing you after his outburst. Nino also gave him the same advice, though his friend also pointed out that Y/n had to do an effort as well.

"Ugh..." Adrien pushed his homework to the side, you were always on his mind.

"What's gotten you angry?" Plagg asked as he looked at the pouty blond.

"Y/n..."

"Y/n this, Y/n that, it was bad enough with Ladybug but now all you talk about is Y/n!"

Adrien was about to argue with his kwami, but a harsh knock caused the two of them to stiffen. 

"What is the meaning of this?" Mr. Agreste barged into his son's room with a tablet in hand, "Why is Y/n on a date with someone else?"

Adrien quickly rose to his feet, as he was handed the tablet he looked at the image. There you were, smiling as you placed a treat on someone's spoon. Jealousy was getting the best of him, the press did a good job hiding the identity of the person, still, Adrien's eyes narrowed as he read the post:

_ Y/n and Adrien, are they officially over? Why else would she be at a hot dating spot among the teens her age! After many weeks of speculation, we can finally conclude Y/n and Adrien are no longer a couple. _

"I don't know..." Adrien finally answered his father's question. "We had a fight about her disappearance these past few days...

"Y/n was doing photoshoots for me, she wanted to end the contract as soon as possible. Her reasoning behind it was that she wanted to finish her job so she could spend more time with you." Mr. Agreste's matter-of-factly tone made his son's eye widen in the realization of your mysterious disappearance. 

_ "This just in! Magpie has been spotted at the Paris Opera Library-Museum!" _

Both Mr. Agreste and Adrien turned to the news that was broadcasting live on his computer monitor. The anchorwoman was being driven to the scene of the action, the screen was split between the anchorwoman recounting the information to the audience.

_ "As always Magpie was never the one for doing such stunts or provocations on a small scale. But what has made the infamous thief of Paris replace opera manuscripts with obvious fakes inside the museum?!" The anchorwoman's mic lowers as she receives information through her headphone. "We have been informed that Magpie has been spotted inside the orchestra pit of the Palais Garnier! We're receiving an invitation to make our way inside....and Magpie is setting the livestream for our dear viewers who can't make it to the Palais Garnier!" _

_ As the camera pans to the stage, Magpie was standing by the conductor podium with an orchestra filled with masked musicians. All of them were waiting for Magpie, for you, to move, it was unusual seeing Paris' most wanted calm and collected. _

_ As cameras began to flood the museum, you gave a bow as banners adorned the museum. At the same time, all forms of communications tunned into your livestream, to the side was a meter of money collected. _

_ "For every one thousand we raise, I will return the original manuscripts back to the museum. As always there's a catch, only the rich can donate, you'll receive word from soon enough!." You announced. _

Adrien watched attentively as you began to direct the orchestra, was this what you were planning all this time? His eyes we glued at your movements, it was when the actors got on stage that his eyes focused on what you wanted to show the world.

"A modern retelling of Carmen?" Mr. Agreste stated as he read the captions. His phone buzzed, pulling it out he saw the tiny avatar of a Magpie asked for donations if the museum ever wanted to see their precious contents ever again. "What a pest..."

_ "It seems that only the rich and upper-class are being asked to send money as a ransom for the items residing inside the museum. Failure to hit the milestone before the end of the acts and the opera will lead to the destruction of texts and the museum itself!" The anchorwoman exclaimed. "The mayor is making calls with the wealth to urge them to donate, you can also donate on sight... hold on... Magpie is giving us a glare, we'll keep quiet!" _

"Mr. Agreste? The mayor is on the phone." Nathalie interrupted to inform her boss.

"I'll take his call." Mr. Agreste spoke as he left the room and closed the doors, leaving Adrien alone once more.

"Isn't it weird?" Plagg emerged from his hiding spot as he looked at the monitor. "Magpie always steals stuff, why would she put a show?"

"It is weird, considering that Y/n didn't even show up to class. She didn't have the time to tell me she would be absent but she had time to hang out with Luka..." Adrien bitterly said to his kwami.

"Not that I'm questioning Y/n taste in opera, but why Carmen?" Plagg asked, "Is it because they're both thieves?"

"Ladybug is now on stage!" The anchorwoman announced, though her comment made everyone on stage yell at her to be quiet.

"Ladybug?" Adrien turned to see the screen, sure enough, an angry Ladybug was trying to stop the production. Though doing so proved difficult by the many stagehands that were dressed as different opera characters, all of them were finally able to cage Ladybug, what a weird deja vu it was for both Adrien and Ladybug. "Plagg, claws out!"

Adrien was tired of this cat and mouse game, he was going to talk to you no matter what. Even if that meant that he had to crash your heist!

・‥…━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━…‥・

"We will be taking a break..." One of the stagehands announced to all of the reporters (and Ladybug) attending the opera, "Do refrain from hurting our conductor, we don't take kindly to those who hurt our esteemed patrons."

Ladybug had to sit once more on her private seat, she was fuming that you pulled a stunt! It was bad enough having to deal with you every once in an awhile, but ever since some weeks ago you started to pull more reckless stunts. Worse of all was how you were one step ahead of her, surely you were working with Hawkmoth if you were this resourceful. 

"Looks like the two of us are angry at Magpie this time around." Ladybug heard the familiar voice of her partner as he walked to her side of the cage.

"I'm getting tired of these, I have a hunch that Magpie is working with Hawkmoth."

The two heroes eyed the mysterious Magpie as you gave instructions to the orchestra, after a few minutes they saw how you grappled to their balcony.

"Woah Woah, you guys are very eager to see me!" You rested by the pillar as you saw the glares of your enemy and your so-called boyfriend.

"What's the meaning of this!" The two heroes yelled causing you to jump, you expected to get yelled by Ladybug but not by your beloved Chat Noir.

"Geez..." You snapped your fingers as two people in costumes shoved Chat Noir into the same cage with Ladybug, "You've never yelled at me my kitten..." You caressed Chat's hair but his hand swatted you away.

"I don't like it when you lie..." Chat retorted, sure his father told him you were actually busy working but why lie to him and go out with another guy.

"You wouldn't understand even if I told you..." You pulled out your phone and took a picture of the two pouty heroes. "You guys have your own way of dealing with injustices, but unlike you, I'm willing to get my hands dirty."

You posted the picture, not a second later all of the reporters were filling in the theatre taking pictures. Walking to the balcony you motioned your henchman to show the caged heroes.

"Magpie! Is it true you'll reveal the civilian identities of the heroes?!" The reporters asked.

"Only if Hawkmoth is willing to bargain his identity, he should know where to contact me." You leaned into the cage, "Don't try anything funny Buganette..." You tied the hero by the waist and made her hang from the balcony.

"You're really working with Hawkmoth aren't you?" Chat muttered, his ears fell on the top of his head. His comment did not go unnoticed, when he lifted his gaze you were walking towards him

"I thought I had your trust, for you to think that..." There was sadness in your voice that the distortion program could not mask.

"We both thought that about each other, we were supposed to be a team."

"And we are, you wanted my help and I did so with no questions asked."

"Not like this, not at the expense of losing Ladybug and our miraculous!" Chat banged the cage, the noise caused more uproar with the reporters in the theatre.

"You still like her, don't you..." The words got caught up in your throat. You weren't an idiot, the moment you saw the two heroes you knew Chat Noir loved Ladybug. Nothing has changed, not even when you became his girlfriend. 

Chat didn't answer, he opened and closed his mouth like a fish, that hesitation cleared your head of the possibility of being with Adrien.

"I see... Crow and Raven, you guys know what to do. You looked at the intercom on your arm, with the tap of a few buttons the lights of the opera theatre turned off.

"What's going on?!" The reporters in the audience scrambled to turn on the lights they had. A few seconds later the lights came back, a few librettos were neatly placed in the middle of the stage.

Chat Noir looked around for you, he was no longer in a cage and free to search the balcony. Upon seeing Ladybug still hanging by the rope he helped her back to stable ground.

"I'm telling you, they're working with Hawkmoth!" Ladybug protested.

"N-no, Magpie would never work with someone like that..." Chat's voice broke, his beloved Y/n would never work with someone like Hawkmoth. But why else were you willing to put both him and Ladybug in a golden platter for Hawkmoth? 

"How would you know? We barely know anything about this thief, she's the bad guy."

"They're not!" Chat protested, "Magpie may be morally grey but they would never betray their friends!"

"Then why don't you work with them if you like them that much!"

"Excuse me!" Two small children with the same thief appearance were hanging from a rope, "Magpie told us to tell you guys that we still have the librettos. Good luck getting them next time" The voice changer hid their normal voices, but to the two heroes, it was easy to see that Magpie had new underlings.

"And you!" The child on the left pointed to Chat Noir who flinched at the

motion, "Next time we meet I'll beat you up!"

"Crow shut up!" The other one smacked the thief, "See ya losers!" 

The small thieves pulled on the ropes and retreated back to the ceiling.

"Great..." Ladybug sighed, "We sh-", her words came to a halt when she saw her partner was no longer next to her. She was once again without her faithful companion. 


	40. Diverging Paths

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From this point forward, there would be two parallel stories but one for each love interest as picked by the readers. That being said, picking love interests is now closed c(＞ω＜)ゞ

"C'mon Y/n!" The two small boys no younger than 10 jumped on your bed.

"You nerds!" You tackled the two boys, ever since your parents brought back your new siblings you found yourself more playful with their shenanigans.

"Chickadees, breakfast is ready! Y/n, make sure Gawain didn't put his shirt inside out!"

Corbin, the freckled boy out of the two looked at his uniform, it was still a foreign concept for him to wear such fancy clothes. Dorian on the other hand, was always covered with band-aids from being too rowdy, which often meant that you had to fix his clothes as well.

"Dorian threatened your boyfriend." Corbin spoke to you as you fixed his shirt.

"You promised you wouldn't tell! Plus he had it coming..."

You smiled, seeing these two boys made you feel gratitude for your parents. They were just like you but in a smaller and rowdier bundle. Now it was your turn as their big sister to look after the thieves in training.

"Y/n should just break up with him, that other guy is way better!" Dorian told his twin, it was funny seeing the two of them bicker over who they prefer to be your boyfriend. They often sounded like the older sibling when it came to matter such as these.

"Alright alright, go head downstairs so I can change. We still have lessons to go over." You hauled the two boys and dropped them on your sofa, they giggled at your roughness and scrambled to get breakfast.

Once you got changed you headed downstairs to see if your dad and the twins left any breakfast. To your surprise, there was a plate with your favorite breakfast sampler and nothing was missing from it.

"I got here before the little ones, if I didn't then we wouldn't have food to eat." Your mom spoke as she read the newspaper, she was taking small bites of fruit though she also had to fend off her own plate from your brothers and dad as well.

"Ma, is Y/n going to school today?" Corbin asked as he offered you and extra bacon piece in exchange for a crepe.

"She's going to go for half a day, or else Mr. Damocles might lower her grades."

"Isthug ofs affter?" Dorian talked with his mouth full.

"Midday and after, also Dorian don't talk with your mouth full." Your mother chided the youngest of the twins.

"Sorry..." Dorian replied, he had leftover food and you went to wipe it off with a napkin. "Does that mean she gets to train us a little longer?"

"Yes, she's going to test your abilities with a timed mission."

"I'll meet you guys in the Gustave Moreau museum in an hour." You told the twins as their eyes shone at the possibility of doing some mayhem.

Not a second later did they disappear from the breakfast table to gather their belongings.

"How's it like having help?" Your dad asked as he did the dishes.

"Pretty fun, they're learning quickly and they'll help me immensely on my upcoming project."

"Think you could look over them for the rest of the day? Your mom and I have to deal with Mr. Agreste and other designers that are coming for Paris fashion week."

"No problem, they're very well-behaved."

"What should we tell Mr. Agreste id he tries to extend your contract?" Your mom asked as she lowered the newspaper to look at you.

"Tell him..." You took a bite while you searched for a good excuse to give to your former employer, "Tell him that I'm taking a break with Adrien and that we had a disagreement."

"Wouldn't that raise more questions or backfire on him? Your dad asked.

"Actually that's what I want, I want to know if Adrien truly likes me for me regardless of what his father thinks about me. Though I do plan on talking with Adrien later today, I'm bitter but I have to make the effort to communicate."

"Looks like the little ones are helping you with that after all, and as always we'll be right there to back you up." Your mother gave you a warm smile and a kiss on the cheek before grabbing her bag. "We should get going, traffic is going to get worse if we stay any longer."

Your parents waved their goodbyes at you as they left through the front door.

"Y/n!" You heard Dorian yell from his room, "Corbin wants to take Chowder!"

Sighing you sipped your coffee as you heard the two boys quarrel.

"You guys have 50 mins, and Chowder can come just make sure he's also suited up!" You got up and went to your room to get dressed up. Once you were done you looked at your watch, 45 mins for their mission to start, leaving the note on their door you headed for the museum.

・‥…━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━…‥・

"10...9...8.." You looked at your wristwatch, Crow and Raven were going to barely scrape by if they didn't appear in the next three seconds.

"We're here!" Raven and Crow said in unison, they had Chowder strapped on their back with his outfit.

"Do you guys have the librettos?" You asked as you motioned to the Palais Garnier.

"Yeah!" Raven showed you the librettos that were neatly tucked in his bag. "Is our mission to place them in the museum?"

"Hmmm..." You held your chin as you thought about the best course of action, giving the librettos back would be too easy not to mention you haven't got the ransom money you promised the orchestra foundation. "You see that?" You pointed your two brother's to the building "That's the Hotel Drouot, they do some shady actions with cultural items."

"So, we're going to give them a taste of their own medicine?" Crow asked when he saw you shaking your head in agreement he looked at his holo pad for the layout of the hotel. "We can use Burrow to cute some wires here and here."

"And if needed, we can use the metro station for a clean getaway or a distraction." Raven added as he looked at the busy metro entrance.

"Alright, hands-on deck. Burrow is up first, meanwhile, you guys are going to do everything else and I'll provide back-up."

The twins nodded, they placed Burrow on the powerline and started their countdown. You guys only had 5 hours to gather as much money as possible, with a tap on your phone all of the commercial billboards turned to announce the auction for the missing librettos.

・‥…━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━…‥・

Adrien was crestfallen, it's been weeks since his last encounter with you. Though it seemed that his time away from you gave him the needed space to think over his relationship with you. 

Marinette was kind enough to offer an ice rink as a possible date spot for when you returned to school. Adrien knew you weren't someone to hold your punches, but as the days went by, the more he got worried that you really did forget about him.

"A-Adrien, Luka told me that Y/n would come to school later today!" Marinette tensely explained.

"Is she?" Adrien swallowed, sure he prepared himself for your return but why did you tell Luka of all people. "How does he know?" He tried to hide his jealousy by looking away from the bluenette.

"We take advanced mathematics together." Luka's soft voice interrupted the two. "Her family made her take placement tests so she can finish school earlier."

"It sounds like she's bored here, who would take advanced classes instead of doing something else?" Marinette pouted, why were you such a diligent student even with your foul attitude?

Before Adrien could say anything, his phone buzzed though his phone wasn't the only one to do so.

_ "Come to the Hotel Durout to get your exclusive first copy of the following opera librettos!" Two smaller blackbirds announced as they read the list of the auctioned items, they had a different from the bigger blackbird that was the usual Magpie mascot for the website. "Act now and you'll receive a coupon for a discount if you contract our services, but you need to be the highest bidder! This is exclusive for everyone but Ladybug and Chat Noir, we also accept foreign currency free of tax!" _

"Magpie is adding tax fraud to their list of crimes..." Marinette muttered to herself as she read the message, "I'm going to head to the library." 

The two teens saw how Marinette hurried away. Adrien was still looking at his phone, maybe you'll post the coordinates to the event or hidden them somewhere. Still, no matter how much he scrolled he couldn't find an invitation, that is until he tapped on one of the smaller birds made a small chirping sound.

_ "COngRatUations, pLEAse Gooo TO The 4th HAALl and SHow THis MESsage to tHe MOnitoor!" The small bird's speech bubble gave him the coordinates and a code. _

The school would have to wait, there were more pressing matters to attend to at the moment.

\--------------------------------------------------------

"Attention!" Crow's distorted voice spoke to the audience who made it through the screening, none of them posed a threat. "The first item will be the libretto of the Opera based on Saint Francis of Asis by Leduc 1988."

"Bidding starts at $30,000!" Raven shows the libretto ask he announces the start price, "Do I see $35,000?"

You looked at your younger brothers playing auction, for the first hands-on mission they were doing pretty well.

"Though your bell doesn't chime, your steps aren't that quiet either." You turned to face incredulous Chat Noir, while you were relaxed your paramour was stiff as a board."

"H-here..." Adrien handed you a yellow rose, he avoided your gaze as you inspected the rose.

"Yellow huh?" Though you weren't versed in the language of flowers, you knew well enough that this could mean two things: an apology or a betrayal. Deep down you wished it meant the former and not the latter.

"I'm sorry for my actions, the time we have been separated made me realize that I wasn't understanding."

"I'm also at fault, being with someone if a lot more difficult than expected. But I do think we should take it slow, before we can be in a serious relationship I want to be your equal tat can stay by your side. Though I won't force you to stay in your heart if there's someone else, we can end things right now if you wish. I'm sure there are better candidates than a thief with a tendency to disappear." 

Adrien, the teen behind the mask look at your vizor, his eyes were searching for an answer within your masked face

"So what would it be?" You lifted your vizor and looked at him in the eye, now it was your turn to hold your head high, no matter the outcome you'll have the inner peace in knowing you tried. 


	41. The Price is Right

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Hello ~
> 
> The winner of Reader's love interest is Adrien!
> 
> Okay I know I promised other routes, so I'll write them after I finish this fic. And I'm going to put it as 'Part of Birds of a Feather'; they might or not might follow the events of this fic, I want the other routes to be more or a retelling with new twists to fit the love interest and how the Reader grows with these relationships. That being said, thank you for your patience with this fic as well as the support (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧
> 
> What's the future looking for my writing? Actually, there's a fic I'm dying to write for another love interest. Somehow I always find myself writing about a 'mysterious' or 'gothic' Reader, mostly because I feel having mystery allows for more fun (you never know what to expect) and my favorite genres are Gothic and Horror. If you want small snippets of writing that's stand-alone, consider reading my Miraculous Imagines here in AO3. And if you have a prompt you'd like to see written, comment on that fic or follow my Tumblr (link in AO3 bio).
> 
> Once again, thank you from the bottom of my heart! Stay safe, and most of all stay happy!

"I trust you, wholeheartedly!" Chat Noir kissed your lips, all the uncertainty left his body when he felt you caress his cheek.

"Eww!!" Crow and Raven say in unison as they make their presence known.

"Anyway," Raven dragged the word as he separated you and Chat Noir, "we have to make a run for it."

"Right, you guys put the items in the cargo bay for delivery. I'll handle escorting the buyers." You told the twins as they scrabbled to moved all of the items to safety.

"Dear patrons, all items will be delivered to the P.O boxes with the keys given to the ones who bought the items. Now please follow the glowing lights once the hotel loses electricity."

Pressing some keys on your pad, the lights turned off and the signs began to glow. You waited until the last buyer left the room, your brothers soon joined you as they confirmed the shipment of all of the parcels.

"Just so you know, we don't trust you..." Crow told Chat Noir as he dragged him through the corridors.

"And don't you think about betraying us or hurting Magpie!" Raven pushed Chat into the getaway van as you took your seat on the driver's side. No one would believe that the catering group was the thieves leaving the scene.

"Cover him up, he's a high-risk personality..." You turned on the van and began driving as your brothers stuffed Chat Noir inside some boxes. 

Hopefully, your group would make out of the security checkpoints the police had set up. But you'd always expect that something will turn south, mostly when you became one of Paris' most wanted.

"Sorry Miss, we have to check every car passing in and out. Please, open the back." The guard asked.

"Just careful with the food, I don't want to lose on my pay if something is missing." You lowered your cap to hide your face as you unlocked the rear of the van.

"Who is this?" The guard motioned to a person in a trench coat.

"That's the chef, if I were you I'd hurry up. He gets very angry if you touch the food."

"Yes, but it's protocol..." The guard gulped as he walked past the person in the trench coat. Nothing was out of place, there was only food and nothing else. "Carry on!"

Once you drove past the last checkpoint you began to laugh. The laughing was contagious that you had to park the van just to look at your group.

"Seriously, two kids in a trench coat?" You laughed as you brothers faked a hurt expression.

"Paris is really in shambles if they can't see were two kids in a trench coat." Corbin puffed. "Plus no one can tell who these superheroes are, let alone catch a simple thief if they really on Bug Girl and Cat Boy."

"I can hear you!" Adrien's head popped from a cake box, there was an evident pout about the comments your brother made.

"So did we get a pass?!" Corbin pushed Chat Noir to the side to get your attention.

"Oh yeah... let's see... infiltration... money raised... costume... you guys pass with flying colors." You pated their heads, you also gave Adrien a kiss on the cheek for his part in getting away.

"So... we have to address the cat in the room..." Corbin looked back at the blond boy.

"And his weird pet thing..." Dorian pointed at Plagg who was eating the cheese products.

"Plagg, that's coming off your pay for this job!" You chided the kwami who had a face full of cheese.

"Send the tab to Adrien Agreste." Without another word he continued to eat the cheese, this was going to be a hard thing to explain to one of your investors.


	42. Devising

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Professors shouldn't say they understand that COVID has made school have more workload and then have the audacity of giving a 10-page paper, like dude I have other papers (●o≧д≦)o
> 
> Other than that, slower fic upload since it's nearing its finale (there's still a lot of chapters to go but I'm thinking that far). Side note I watched this Youtube vid about "Faux Feminism in ML", it's pretty good and makes me think about how I'm writing my fics. Feel free to read my other fics or follow me on Twitter/Tumblr, we can chit chat there ٩(•̤̀ᵕ•̤́๑)ᵒᵏᵎᵎᵎᵎ

"So, that's the plan? It sounds so... easy?" Adrien asked as he sat by your balcony, it was weird to be dressed as his usual self in a place he frequented as Chat Noir.

"That's the gist of it, I'll only work as an informant and nothing more." You sipped your tea as you observed Adrien's expression. He looked sad and a bit defeated on what you told him. "Listen, I don't believe in fate or anything like that. But I do believe in finishing what you started, and that means offering my help and giving what I can. Even I have people who are my bosses."

"I thought you did things as you pleased?"

"I do, but there are codes and honor among thieves. Sorry I can't offer more..."

"N-no it's fine, you're doing a lot already."

"So the next step might be the toughest one but I think we can do it together." Setting down your cup of tea, you pulled out the plans for the next mission. "Think you could do it?"

"I'm sure I can if I'm with you."

"I'm glad you feel that way, just remind yourself about that when you face these tasks."

If Paris thought they have seen the worst Magpie had to offer, there were going to be proven that the worst is yet to come.

・‥…━━━━━━━☆☆━━━━━━━…‥・

After the auction heist, you returned to school like a normal teen. Though being a normal teen and acting like one proved hard when your character was known as 'Adrien's girlfriend'.

"I never knew being a student was hard, how do you guys do it?." You told Alix and Nathaniel as they worked on their projects in the art room.

"Well for one, we're not famous nor have a famous significant other." Nathaniel pointed out, his teased caused you to stick out your tongue and he took it as a normal Y/n thing.

"How's that treating you?" Alix asked.

"We're hitting the 3-month mark, that's a big milestone. Still feels weird, nothing has changed, if anything we're closer than ever." You rest your head on your hand, the past three months have been hectic, but that was due to the training you had oversee.

"Ooo, are you guys going to do those cheesy anniversaries when you guys hit a certain milestone?" Alix teased you.

"Bold of you to assume they haven't done it already, knowing how whipped Adrien is for her I'm surprised they're not engaged." Nathaniel nudged you as you tried to hide your blush.

"Looks like fencing practice has ended..." You quickly leave the room as you laughed and waved at your friends.

"Just don't forget to extend wedding invitations to us." Alix's voice rang through the room.

Skipping down the steps you looked over the railings that lead to the courtyard. Adrien was still in his fencing gear and his opponent was talking to him, the navy blue hair gave the person away. Then again you only knew two people who had that color, and only one of them did not fluster when it came to Adrien.

"Y/n!" Adrien's cheery voice beckoned you to come downstairs. You waved back and did not fail to see how Kagami stiffened when Adrien turned his gaze to you.

"Hey, you two! How was practice?" You ask your boyfriend and Kagami.

"He was distracted..." Kagami's comment held resentment as she looked away from you. If there's one thing you valued about Kagami is her straightforwardness.

"Sorry, I just have a lot in my mind," Adrien smiled. "I should get changed, me and Y/n have dinner plans."

"Oh right we do, but I have to ask something to Kagami." You told Adrien, he excused himself and gave you a kiss on the cheek before leaving.

When you made sure Adrien didn't linger in the courtyard you turned to face your friend.

"So, what was that about?" You ask Kagami, you had a theory but it didn't sit with you if you began an interrogation on her.

"What was what? Me avoiding you?" Kagami replied, there's her usual self shining through.

"Yup, so what's the problem?"

"I... I think you know..." Kagami looked down as she pivoted in place.

"I might, but that doesn't mean that I'm suspicious about you or him. I trust the two of you." You cracked your neck, Kagami stressing out was stressing you out.

"You mean it?"

"Of course, what are friends for?" You gently give a fist bump to her shoulder, she smiles and you laugh at how mendable the problem was. "See you later?"

"See you later!"

Both you and Kagami part ways, she went to the lockers and you daddled waiting for Adrien. It wasn't long until you saw him coming out with his duffel bag.

"Need help?" You asked the blond as you took the bag from him and secured it in your shoulder. 

"Shouldn't I be the one doing that?"

"Nonsense, I doubt you're recovered from all that training I put you through. Is that the reason why you're distracted?"

"Can you train me in being as smart as you?"

"Nu-uh, it might be harder to train in that if you want to develop those skills."

Adrien pouts, which causes you to chuckle at where his priorities are. Perhaps you'll teach him street smarts in the future, but he doesn't seem like the type of person who might need it.

"Think I'm ready?" Adrien asks, it sounds like a question he's asking to himself than to you.

"You never know until you try it, but if it makes you feel any better we only go with half of the training you have received."

"Wait really?" Adrien looked at you, your slight nod made him exhale a nervous chuckle. 

"Yeah, you're really lucky. None of us had help, even during the first heist I was just pushed out of an airplane without a second to ask the plan."

"Could you tell me more about it? Maybe over some of your famous fajitas?"

"Pfft, I was always planning on giving you food. No need to butter me up pussycat."

As you began to giggle to yourself, you failed to notice how Adrien's hand enveloped your own. It wasn't long until that tug caused you to smile at the boy.

"What's wrong Y/n? Cat got your tongue?"

There was not witty comeback you could come up with at the moment, instead, you just lifted his hand with yours and blew a raspberry at it.


End file.
